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Medical professionals weigh in on minors’ right to consent to immunizations
Sheilamary Koch Medical & Allied HealthcareAs outbreaks of preventable diseases, namely measles, have become relatively commonplace in recent years, some physicians are supporting laws that would give adolescents the right to choose to be vaccinated over parental objections before the age of 18. The issue of conflicting viewpoints on vaccines between parents and teens hit the national media in March when Ohio high school senior Ethan Lindenberger shared his experience of trying to get vaccinated despite his mother’s objections in his testimony before a Senate committee.
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3 winning strategies to hire for diversity of thought in your organization
Simma Lieberman Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementClients often tell me that they think hiring for diversity of thought is more important than demographic indicators. The problem is that some people use the term "diversity of thought" as a way of not seeking out more people of color and women from different backgrounds. I agree that diversity of thought is essential and, yes, everyone is different. However, if everyone looks the same you won’t get the diversity of experiences and perspectives that result in the kind of diversity of thought that gives rise to breakthrough products and services.
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The pros and cons of wearable ECG technology
Lisa Mulcahy Medical & Allied HealthcareNew, wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) technology can be a tremendous boon to heart patients if it's utilized in a very precise and specific manner with the proper guidance. According to Harvard Medical School data, 160 million people will soon be using wearable technology like smartwatches to monitor their physical activity and health. Yet, as a doctor, it's important to prescribe and interpret use of these devices carefully. It has been estimated that 30% of wearable devices yield inaccurate results. Here are the right ways to incorporate wearable ECG technology into a treatment plan.
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Study: Liver transplants linked to worse pregnancy outcomes
Chelsea Adams Medical & Allied HealthcarePregnant women who received liver transplants are at higher risk for pregnancy-related complications, according to data presented at the American College of Gastroenterology Meeting. "As more women of childbearing age undergo transplantation and subsequently experience pregnancy, issues regarding complications and the effect on outcomes will only become more relevant," said Dr. Lindsay A. Sobotka, a fellow at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. For the study, the Ohio State research team analyzed a large inpatient sample of data from pregnant women who received care between 2005 and 2013.
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Healthcare spending up as CMS continues push for hospital price transparency…
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcareU.S. healthcare spending rose 4.6% in 2018 to $3.6 trillion, a rate that's higher than in 2017 but near the same level as 2016. Healthcare spending didn't grow as fast as the nation's gross domestic product, so healthcare's share of the economy fell from 17.9% to 17.7%, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Office of the Actuary. The data, released annually, pointed to the increase brought on by the reinstatement of the Affordable Care Act's Health Insurance Tax, which was not in effect for 2017.
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Study: Declining admission, mortality rates due to ED physicians improving…
Lynn Hetzler Healthcare AdministrationThe results of a new study show a substantial decline in mortality rates among Medicare beneficiaries visiting an emergency department from 2009 to 2016, especially among patients with high-severity conditions. Healthcare continues to be in the spotlight as policymakers seek to improve care and its costs. Many policymakers who focus on emergency medicine (EM) characterize it as being overutilized by patients, excessive when it comes to performing tests, overly expensive, and prone to diagnostic errors.
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A new study on vitamin E may change how cardiac patients are treated
Lisa Mulcahy Medical & Allied HealthcareAs a cardiologist or hospital administrator, your priority is to give your heart attack patients their best fighting chance — and now there may be a simple new way to do just that. Researchers at Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia, report that giving patients suffering from cardiac arrest symptoms a vitamin E dose may provide better procedure outcomes prior to vessel/stent surgery and may be beneficial to patients' overall outcomes if given before discharge after a procedure.
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Planning for the future: There’s no time like the present
Carina Oltmann Medical & Allied HealthcareThe holidays are upon us. There are gifts to purchase and wrap, parties to plan, potluck dishes to prepare and lights to string. Inevitably, many of us will share in some festivities with our close family members. For those of us who work in healthcare, we know that the gifts of good health and time shared with loved ones are precious. What we may not think about is that these hours or days together are an opportune time to take care of a very important matter: Planning for the future and establishing advance directives.
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What you can do about the 8% Medicare reimbursement cuts to therapy services
Jarod Carter Healthcare AdministrationThis month, CMS came down with its final ruling on the Physician Fee Schedule, which is going to cut Medicare reimbursements for physical therapy services by 8% in 2021. This was in no way a surprise, even though the APTA called it a "surprising decision." It’s not the APTA's fault. It's no group's fault. It’s no individual’s fault, or the profession as a whole. It's just math. I know a lot of practices out there that are running on such thin profit margins that an 8% reduction in Medicare reimbursements for physical therapy services could be the nail in the coffin. But it doesn’t have to be that way!
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Investigational hyperbaric oxygen therapy indications: Preconditioning…
Eugene R. Worth Medical & Allied HealthcareWelcome to another post on plausible, off-label uses for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. We have previously discussed the rationale for using hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in an "off-label" indication. We suggested that there must be a scientific rationale, physiology that made sense for use of HBOT, and some sort of verified outcome (case report, case series, controlled clinical trial, etc.). Today, we are going to discuss the use of HBOT for patients who have an ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) to the myocardium.
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