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The patient experience: How you can know

Kent McAllister Healthcare Administration

How you can know. This is not a question; it is a statement. Albeit, it is the appropriate question to ask in most industries where any management discipline is applied. Let’s examine patient experience and how you can know what is actually happening from the patient’s perspective in your health system. There are serious challenges to measuring patient experience, and these challenges have recently taken on increased significance as the industry tide shifts.

Free ADA webinar to spotlight oral health effects of tobacco

Tammy Hinojos Oral & Dental Healthcare

While the rate of smoking has certainly gone down since the mid-1960s, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that the current rate of adults who use combustible tobacco products is still nearly 18 percent. Additionally, almost 1 in 5 high school students use tobacco products and around 480,000 people die each year as a result of smoking. Dentists have a unique opportunity to educate their patients about the dangers of tobacco use as oral cancer screenings have become a normal part of most preventive dental care appointments in practices across the country.

Heads-up: Repeated headers may lead to balance issues for young soccer…

Dr. Denise A. Valenti Sports & Fitness

Changes in balance and gait can be an indication of incipient neurologic disease, such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease. But there is evidence that there can be subtle changes in balance, and thus concern about neurologic injury, in young adults who engage in sports that involve blows to the head. A study authored by Dr. John Jeka of the University of Delaware found that soccer players who moved the ball more often by heading it were more likely to have problems with balance than those players who did not.

Identifying, treating age-related muscle weakness

Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied Healthcare

Lean muscle mass contributes up to 50 percent of total body weight in young adults, but that decreases to 25 percent by age 75 to 80. By 25 years of age, skeletal muscles have reached their maximum size. Although the decrease in muscle tissue begins around the age of 50 years, the decrease becomes more dramatic after age 60 and results in diminished muscle function. This decline of muscle mass and strength, or sarcopenia, is often hastened by inactivity.

Controversial hospital policy targets opioid-addicted patients

Joan Spitrey Healthcare Administration

As the opioid crisis continues to hold the nation captive, some new, innovative approaches are being attempted to at least manage certain aspects of the crisis. The University of Tennessee Medical Center (UTMC) in Knoxville will now require patients admitted for medical treatments of drug-use-related infections to comply with new conduct rules. The goal is to create a safer environment for both patients and staff.

Amazon purchases PillPack. What is that?

Jason Poquette Pharmaceutical

Once again, Amazon has given healthcare a shake-up, this time with a reported $1 billion purchase of a prescription delivery service called PillPack that, frankly, many people had never heard of. PillPack? What is that? A Bloomberg article described PillPack as servicing a "narrow segment of patients." But with a reported 2017 revenue of $100 million, it seems to have done pretty well with a skinny slice of the prescription pie.

New ways to improve patient satisfaction at your hospital

Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare Administration

As an administrator, there's no doubt that you're aware of the value good patient feedback has on your facility. Hearing and understanding what works and what doesn't is key in terms of adopting policies that will benefit future patients' physical and emotional comfort. Additionally, as patient satisfaction can determine Medicare reimbursement rates, it's imperative for your bottom line that the environment you provide is pleasant, safe and medically excellent.

Hospital hiring makes big jump, but overall healthcare numbers still lower…

Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied Healthcare

Healthcare saw another increase in the number of jobs added in June, and hospitals in particular experienced a plethora of new blood joining their ranks, up 71 percent from the previous month. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' newest jobs report, healthcare has added 309,000 jobs in the last 12 months. Hospitals hired 10,600 new professionals last month. Overall, the U.S. healthcare sector added 25,200 jobs in June, which was actually lower than the 28,900 jobs it added in May.

For healthcare organizations, mission is everything

Keith Carlson Medical & Allied Healthcare

Healthcare organizations are not immune to the challenges faced by their brethren in other industries: the economy, staff development, lines of succession, liability, and competition exist across various fields of endeavor. The lack of a clearly focused mission can leave a healthcare facility or agency vulnerable and adrift without a collective vision of what it seeks to accomplish and what it seeks to be. Prudent healthcare leaders are aware of this, and thoughtfully work to create a mission that keeps their collective vision strong, vibrant, and open to change over time.

How to not get burnt by Yelp

Jarod Carter Marketing

This article explains some simple steps to make sure you don’t get burnt by Yelp’s algorithm the way my practice’s Yelp page did. When you put your business page up on Yelp, you expect you might be contacted about purchasing advertising. However, most business owners are not expecting that declining or discontinuing those ad offers may severely hurt their business’ ability to show real, positive reviews on Yelp’s platform.

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