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Nurses continue to push for safe staffing in DC
Joan Spitrey Medical & Allied HealthcareFor the third straight year, nurses are planning to meet on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The Nurses Take DC event will be held April 26 and hopes to again raise public awareness regarding safe nurse-patient ratios, meeting with legislators to discuss nurse staffing and to support pending legislation.
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New approaches to treating septic shock
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareWith a mortality rate of about 50 percent, septic shock is the most common cause of death among critically ill patients in noncoronary intensive care units. Researchers continue to work toward creating better primary and adjunctive treatments to improve mortality rates.
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Why are women donating kidneys more than men?
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareMost living kidney donors are women and, according to a recent study, men are donating even fewer kidneys than ever before. As of today, there are more than 95,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting list, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). While living donor transplant is the preferred treatment for patients with kidney failure, the number of living donor transplantations has been dropping since 2005.
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Will Trump’s plan slow down the opioid epidemic?
Dr. Abimbola Farinde Mental HealthcareThe opioid epidemic has been a longstanding and increasingly recognizable public health issue in the United States. In an additional effort to combat this escalating issue, President Donald Trump on Tuesday rolled out his plan for tackling what he calls "the crisis next door."
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EHRs not lowering costs for healthcare organizations
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationElectronic health records were advertised as efficiency machines, capable of reducing paperwork, improving the care efficiency and perhaps even improving outcomes. But, to a large degree, the technology has done no such thing.
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How video games help rehabilitate stroke survivors
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareEvery year, about 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke, and approximately two-thirds of these individuals survive and require rehabilitation. Nearly half of older stroke survivors experience moderate to severe disability, but researchers have been examining new therapeutic treatments, including video games.
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Will Cigna’s purchase of Express Scripts reduce drug costs?
Scott E. Rupp PharmaceuticalFor those following the big business carousel in healthcare, Cigna is certainly on their radar. In May of 2017, the behemoth insurer announced it was abandoning plans to merge with another behemoth, Anthem. But Cigna is bouncing back, announcing this month that it would purchase Express Scripts
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Organizational wisdom in healthcare
Keith Carlson Healthcare AdministrationEvery healthcare organization is a rich repository of accumulated wisdom that serves as the underpinnings of that organization's overall identity and values. While website mission statements are one aspect of identity for a healthcare facility or system, truly distinctive character and wisdom are represented by the memory, knowledge and skill of the individuals who are intrinsic parts of the collective whole. Intelligent healthcare leaders recognize this dynamic by actively honoring, valuing and preserving institutional memory.
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Marijuana legalization may be linked to greater pedestrian fatality rates
Dr. Denise A. Valenti Civil & GovernmentTaking a walk may have deadly consequences, and the risk appears to be greater in those states that have legal adult use of recreational marijuana. The rate of fatal injury to pedestrians has grown faster than any other vehicle-related deaths for the years of rapid legalization of marijuana. That rate increased 27 percent between 2007 and 2016, while other types of traffic deaths had decreased by 14 percent. While a direct relationship to marijuana use cannot be determined, other sources indicate that the use of marijuana is likely a factor when the driver of a vehicle is using cannabis.
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Opioid addiction treatment could cause breathing problems
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareOpioid addiction remains an alarming epidemic in the United States — in fact, it may even be getting worse. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimated that there are approximately 2.1 million people in the U.S. who have substance abuse issues related to prescribed opioids and another 467,000 who are addicted to heroin.
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