-
Are e-consults right for your practice?
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationStudies show that referring a patient to a specialist can often be a stressful and time-consuming enterprise for a primary care physician. Not only does that PCP have to identify the correct doctor to refer to, he or she must then, in many cases, set up a meeting to discuss the patient's case. What's the latest high-tech solution to save this kind of effort and energy? Electronic consultations, often called e-consults or e-referrals. The process works this way: a PCP who needs to ask a specialist about a specific patient's care — such as a symptom that needs to be discussed — emails a specialist. Then, the PCP and specialist discuss the patient's situation through messages.
-
Tips to help your staff prevent patient data breaches
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationAs a healthcare administrator, you know how important it is to reduce any risk of a patient health information (PHI) data breach. Yet, breaches continue to be a vexing and dangerous problem. A study from Michigan State University found that about 1,800 large data breaches over the course of seven years had to do with lax hospital policies putting information at risk. How can you best assist your staff and your IT to secure the data at your organization? Let the research-based advice in this article be your guide.
-
Study results show promise for using ultrasound to assess bone health
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareOsteoporosis affects about 25 percent of women aged 65 years and over and about 5 percent of men aged 65 and over. Unfortunately, most people are unaware that they have osteoporosis until they break a bone. Dual/energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the gold standard for assessing bone health. Although effective in identifying those with low bone mineral density (BMD), using DXA to screen for bone health is limited by cost, size, and technical requirements to operate the machine. A recent study, however, showed that inexpensive ultrasound screenings for osteoporosis were equal to data gathered using DXA.
-
How to help your ER doctors make faster, more accurate diagnoses
Lisa Mulcahy Medical & Allied HealthcareTime is of the absolute essence when it comes to making critical calls in the emergency room. Your hospital's doctors are no doubt experienced in fast evaluation — but could they be making diagnostic decisions even more effectively? Researchers have come up with cutting-edge methods doctors can use to do their jobs better. Consider giving the following advice to your emergency department physicians.
-
3 reasons healthcare leaders should consider an executive coach
Catherine Iste Healthcare AdministrationThe healthcare industry is in a state of flux at all levels. Staffing shortages continue, and while the number of students in the pipeline is improving, care organizations of all types are finding it difficult to develop a strong bench. This increases the pressure on leaders at all levels within every type of healthcare institution to creatively lead, inspire, and balance resources with care and business management. Here are three ways leadership coaching can help.
-
Growing the muscles of communication in healthcare
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareIn most every aspect of healthcare, communication is key to positive patient outcomes, stellar teamwork, and the seamless operation of organizations and facilities of every size and type. A Tower of Babel scenario in a healthcare-related circumstance is never acceptable. How, why, and when we grow our individual and collective muscles of discourse and conversation are of utmost importance. If you, your colleagues, your leaders, or your employing institution itself are lacking in this regard, it's not too late to change that calculus for the better.
-
7 common mistakes business owners make and how to avoid them
Roberta Matuson Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementI've been in business for over 20 years and have seen my share of mistakes made by business owners — many that certainly could have been avoided. Here’s my list of common mistakes business owners make, along with advice on how to avoid following suit. For example, think about a job that you worked in that didn't work out. Was it because you didn't have the skills to do the job, or was it because your values did not align with the organization's?
-
Ghosting patients: Is that effective healthcare leadership?
Christina Thielst Healthcare AdministrationAdministrators of hospitals, clinics and medical groups know there is competitiveness in their ranks just as there is in the rest of the business world. However, some actions to protect business interests may interfere with the quality and safety of patient care. This brings us to "ghosting;" when a physician disappears…or is evacuated away from their patients as a result of the breakdown in a professional relationship. A recent Kaiser Health News article shines a bright light on the potential risk to patient health and the unintended consequences caused by these business decisions.
-
Dementia risk linked to severe gum disease
Tammy Hinojos Oral & Dental HealthcareCould taking great care of your teeth and gums throughout your lifetime also help protect your brain as you age? A new study published in The American Geriatrics Society seems to think so. The extensive study performed by investigators from Seoul National University in South Korea has added to growing evidence of a link between severe gum disease, or periodontitis, and a raised risk of dementia.
-
Dialysis, kidney transplant recipients at higher risk for cancer death
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareDialysis and transplant patients face nearly three times the risk of dying from cancer as compared with the general population, according to new research. Previous research has shown that patients on dialysis or have received a kidney transplant are at higher risk of developing cancer, but there have been few studies to assess cancer mortality rates among these patients. To investigate, Eric H. Au, M.B.B.S., of the University of Sydney and colleagues compared the cancer-related mortality rates in kidney transplant recipients and dialysis patients with those of the general population.
All Healthcare Administration Articles