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The end of ER diversions
Mark Huber Healthcare AdministrationThe problem of emergency room overcrowding is not new. It creates a chain of failure, particularly when ambulances with critically ill patients aboard — on the ground or in the air — must divert to a secondary hospital, and therefore delay the onset of care.
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As VA pushes for interoperability, national health IT conversation continues
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationWell, that didn't take long. The U.S. Senate approved a bill last week that would give the Department of Veterans Affairs $83 billion for fiscal year 2017, with added money slated for interoperability of its electronic health record and telemedicine efforts.
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The nursing shortage reality: Helping prenursing students succeed
Keith Carlson Healthcare AdministrationIn an era of nursing faculty shortages and a highly competitive job market, supporting prenursing students in preparing for successful careers is crucial. We've all heard stories abound about individuals who are lucky enough to get accepted into nursing school, graduate in good standing and then can't find a job for months.
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Ransomware attacks on hospitals signal a major shift in hacking
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationWe have crossed the mainstream threshold of an entirely new attack on the information collected by hospitals and healthcare facilities: ransomware attacks. There is currently no bigger buzzword in the health security sector than that — "ransomware."
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7 steps for guiding patients through behavioral changes
Christina Thielst Medical & Allied HealthcareValue-based purchasing and other drivers of change have led to improvements in models of care. One of these — the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) — is being implemented in primary care practices around the country. The essence of a patient-centered medical home is that the primary care provider coordinates all of a patient's care with an emphasis on patient engagement and prevention.
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How did we get here? The complex history of the opioid addiction problem
Joan Spitrey PharmaceuticalIn an effort to bring attention to the undertreatment of pain in America, Dr. James Campbell, president of the American Pain Society, encouraged healthcare providers to treat pain as seriously as they do vital signs. From Campbell's speech to the APS in 1996, the concept of pain as the "fifth vital sign" was born.
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Nursing leadership crisis: Who is ready to take their place?
Stacey Kram Healthcare AdministrationWhen we discuss the impending shortage of qualified nurses, we contemplate the effect this shortage will have on direct patient care and staffing. Lost in the discussion, however, is the fact that 75 percent of nurse leaders — the baby boomers — will retire by the year 2020. Who will be prepared to take their places?
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Emergency physician income increases, but issues remain
Chelsea Adams Healthcare AdministrationThe 2016 Medscape Physician Compensation Report indicates emergency physicians earned an average of $322,000 in 2015, slightly higher than 2014's earnings of $306,000. As part of the survey, nearly 20,000 physicians across 26 specialties were asked about earnings, job satisfaction and how much he or she works. In the survey, physicians provided their annual compensation for patient care.
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A matter of ethics and the law in hospice care
Ellen Jane Windham Healthcare AdministrationThe recent news articles involving an FBI investigation in the Dallas area of a hospice company has the potential to set hospice care back years. According to the report, the owner "regularly directed nurses to give hospice patients overdoses of drugs such as morphine to speed up their deaths and maximize profits."
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Shepherding staff through healthcare’s value‑based evolution
Ryan Clark Healthcare AdministrationOn Jan. 26, 2015, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced a timeline to move the healthcare system at large — including the Medicare program — toward paying providers based on the quality of care given to patients, as opposed to the quantity of care, which had been the model of use in the past.
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