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Negotiating commercial leases: Put your meeting in writing

Dale Willerton and Jeff Grandfield Retail

For many commercial tenants, negotiating a good lease or lease renewal against an experienced agent or landlord can be a challenge. While an entrepreneur focuses on marketing and managing, savvy real estate agents and brokers are specialized salespeople. Their job is to sell tenants on leasing their location at the highest possible rental rate. Whether you are leasing a new location for the first time or negotiating a lease renewal for your business, here are two money-saving tips.

How to provide more transparency for patients at your practice

Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare Administration

Every primary care physician knows this undeniable truth: patients today are more informed about their health than ever (which is a very good thing). Thanks to information about vital concerns like medical conditions, insurance and billing that they can read about on the web, many patients aren't shy about wanting you, as their doctor, to allow them as much access to their care and records as possible. Read on to find out the right ways to provide more transparency for your patients, while respecting the rules of your healthcare organization, and relevant laws as well.

Massachusetts passes new law to combat opioid abuse

Jason Poquette Pharmaceutical

On July 19, the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed a new package of legislation aimed to combat the persistent problem of opioid addiction, abuse and overdose in the state. Referred to as the "CARE Act" (an act for prevention and access to appropriate care and treatment of addiction), this 50-page, 97-section, piece of legislation hopes to address an issue that is said to be taking the lives of five people per day in Massachusetts. As a Massachusetts pharmacist myself, I’m encouraged to see that this issue remains a high priority.

Tech titans stake claims in healthcare arena

Joan Spitrey Medical & Allied Healthcare

When names like Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft exert their forces, entire industries are changed and transformed. With nearly $3.5 trillion spent in healthcare and rising, it should be no surprise that these titans of modern industry would want to get in on the action. As more patients need to be cared for from our aging baby boomer generation, cost-containment solutions are coming from the tech world.

Questions raised after transplant programs suspended, threatened with decertification

Chelsea Adams Healthcare Administration

The suspension of a Colorado-based organ transplant program and threats to decertify New York City's organ procurement organization have raised questions for patients on waiting lists. Some 230 patients waiting for a kidney, liver or pancreas at Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver must now look for new organ transplant programs in the area. Porter Adventist informed patients in July that the hospital is voluntarily suspending operations.

Action vs. nonaction in healthcare

Keith Carlson Medical & Allied Healthcare

In any situation we encounter, the choice to act or not act is almost always there. Do we help the little old lady cross the street or not? Healthcare, medicine, and nursing are built upon action: we jump into the fray, we take decisive action, and we save lives. But what does it mean when an organization chooses not to act? What are the repercussions when a hospital, surgical center, or other healthcare facility makes a choice to do nothing, even when the consequences could be dire?

Summertime seasonal affective disorder is rare, but real

Tammy Gibson Mental Healthcare

Summer is a time for beach trips, catching some rays at the pool and months of carefree fun in the sun, right? Actually, for a small percentage of people, the warmer months of the year are the hardest. People who feel down during summer’s longer days may be experiencing summertime seasonal affective disorder, or reverse SAD. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, summer-onset depression is rare, affecting just 10 percent of all SAD cases.

New study: Intravenous alteplase may not be necessary for mild stroke

Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied Healthcare

The results of a new study, published in the July 10 edition of JAMA, suggest alteplase may not be necessary for stroke patients who do not demonstrate disabling deficits upon presentation. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the American Heart Association, with approximately 795,000 people experiencing a stroke every year. Drug treatment involving intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase is the mainstay of treatment for acute ischemic strokes (AIS).

How to make more effective patient referrals

Lisa Mulcahy Medical & Allied Healthcare

When it comes to sending a patient to the proper specialist for the right reasons, some doctors tend to over- or underperform. You never want to deny a patient the care he or she truly needs, but you also want to make sure you're not causing that patient undue stress or financial hardship for an unnecessary referral, either. Research into this topic has made it easier for doctors to decide the right course of action when it comes to appropriate referrals. Here's what you need to know.

Newer, older insulin formulations are similar for lowering glucose

Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied Healthcare

Basal insulin analogues do not produce substantially different glucose-lowering effects in adults with Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Furthermore, evidence gathered in the study suggests that certain insulin regimens may be associated with less weight gain or lower risk for nocturnal hypoglycemia. The study included 39 trials, with a total of 26,195 patients and studied 10 different basal insulin analogues.

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