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Medical-retail drugstore partnerships strengthen business, promote public…

Bill Becken Retail

In the last decade or so, some healthcare providers have partnered with retail drugstore chains like CVS and Walgreens to operate storefront health clinics. The clinics can deliver low-cost but high-quality care in a venue that is usually more convenient than a doctor's office. The clinics tend to be well-utilized, even if they offer only a relatively narrow set of authorized services for minor ailments. The clinics are open at times where the only alternative might be a hospital emergency room.

The link between diabetes and cancer in women

Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied Healthcare

Nearly half of American adults have diabetes or prediabetes. Diabetes increases the risk of heart disease (the most common diabetes complication) by about four times in women but only about two times in men, and women have worse outcomes after a heart attack. Epidemiologic evidence suggests that people with diabetes are at significantly higher risk for many forms of cancer. In fact, diabetes and cancer often coexist in the same individuals.

New ways actors can benefit your doctors-in-training

Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare Administration

You're no doubt familiar with "standardized patients" — professional actors who role-play with medical students and residents to simulate real-life patient interactions. Often, these interactive experiences teach doctors-in-training how to handle basic communication situations, such as how to prescribe medication or explain a diagnosis. New research initiatives, however, are greatly expanding the knowledge medical students and residents can glean from working with actors, leading to more emotional insight when they work with real patients, as well as better effectiveness at sharing medical information with those real patients.

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.

Is fitness the right weapon to combat childhood obesity?

Sheilamary Koch Sports & Fitness

Increasing sedentariness among children around the world makes fighting the problem of childhood obesity even more challenging than ever. In the U.S. alone, more than 12 million children between the ages of 2 and 19 years are obese — one out of every six children, cite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Along with healthier eating, promoting physical activity has been long considered a cornerstone of obesity prevention and treatment. But how much impact do exercise and sports have on this critical issue?

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.

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