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Study provides new insight into the decline of older brains
Dorothy L. Tengler Mental HealthcareAs people age, their ability to perform tasks may be impaired not just because they can’t remember but because they are unable to suppress other memories that are irrelevant. A recent study showed that some older adults who had no noticeable cognitive problems had a more difficult time separating irrelevant information from what they needed to do than younger people. According to Susan Courtney, a cognitive neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins, some memory problems are more a matter of retrieving the correct information at the right time to solve the problem at hand rather than a matter of specific memory.
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Healthy aging in the nursing profession
Amanda Ghosh Medical & Allied HealthcareIf you’re a nurse, you may not be aging well. According to the ANA's Healthy Nurse Survey, 82% of nurses believe they are at risk for workplace stress. Stress at work can reduce your quality of life and lead to significant health problems — two significant hurdles in the path to fit and active golden years. September is Healthy Aging Month, so now is a great time to step back and assess your health. Are you aging gracefully? If not, here are a few ways to combat nursing-related health problems.
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Simulation allows practice of ‘Code Blue drill’ in large health…
Len DeRamus Medical & Allied HealthcareIn just about every healthcare facility, announcements exist to let the staff know of emergency events. Several factors, including training, skill, experience and practice, help mitigate this autonomic reaction in healthcare providers. How does one hone their skills, and gain experience and practice without placing actual patients at risk of harm? On Aug. 9, The University of Georgia Health Center practiced "Code Blue" drills. These drills were simulation-based and reviewed medical emergencies.
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Pilot study: Treating opioid use disorder with naltrexone during pregnancy…
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareNeonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) is common due to the current opioid addiction epidemic. The incidence of infant opioid withdrawal has grown rapidly in many countries over the last decade, nearly a fivefold increase, presenting significant health and early brain development concerns. However, a recent study led by researchers at Boston Medical Center showed that infants of mothers taking naltrexone during pregnancy had shorter hospital stays than infants of mothers who took buprenorphine during pregnancy.
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Bummed, burnt or just plain beat?
Lisa Cole Mental HealthcareLife can often feel like an endurance contest — deadline after deadline with piles upon piles of work. When we’re wallowing in funky feelings, it can help to pause, determine what we are feeling and needing and take appropriate action. As much as we think pushing on even harder may remedy our discomfort, stopping may be the best first thing to do. We can give ourselves "permission to pause." By taking that break and granting ourselves a breather, it may become obvious that we are simply physically exhausted.
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Is your hospital’s patient-centered approach specific enough?
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationAs a healthcare professional, you strive to provide your patients with service that creates the highest level of satisfaction possible. Yet, even the best patient-centered approach may be overlooking small points that really matter. It's key to take a granular overview of whether you're getting as specific as you possibly can when it comes to the details your patients truly care about. Use this advice to provide the things they truly want and need.
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New paper looks at link between private equity, unforeseen medical billing
Seth Sandronsky Medical & Allied HealthcareThe rising price of healthcare, up 18.6% over the past 12 months, is hammering businesses and the customers that they serve across the U.S. A recent paper from the Institute for New Economic Thinking, "Private Equity and Surprise Medical Billing," by Eileen Appelbaum, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and Rosemary Batt, the Alice Hanson Cook Professor of Women and Work at Cornell University, sheds light on part of this inflationary trend.
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Study: Patients don’t think payers, providers can protect their data
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcareProviders and payers: Patients don't think you’re able to keep their personal data healthy and safe, even though you’re charged with doing the same for their health. That blunt assessment is from a skeptical public who is growing increasingly weary of seemingly daily news about breaches and hacks. According to a new study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and POLITICO, only 17% have a "great deal" of faith that their health plan will protect their data. Hospitals are not much further ahead.
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Podcast: Be your very own nursing career detective
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareWhen it comes to your nursing career, you need to be your very own private eye or detective because good ol’ Sherlock or Columbo won’t be able to help you with this particular case. Your assessment of your nursing career is the gathering of facts and clues. And what are you looking for exactly? Here are some potential questions to ask yourself — this is only the beginning of the assessment, but you’ll get the picture.
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Why doctors prescribe more opioids at the end of the day
Sheilamary Koch PharmaceuticalMore opioid prescriptions were written for patients seeing their primary care provider toward the end of the day, according to a study published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Time pressure influencing doctors’ clinical decision-making is a long-standing concept, yet little empirical research has examined its validity or magnitude, write the researchers of the study Hannah Neprash, Ph.D., and Michael Barnette, MD. Specifically, they examined how appointment timing affects prescribing for patients with pain.
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