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Are e-consults right for your practice?
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationStudies show that referring a patient to a specialist can often be a stressful and time-consuming enterprise for a primary care physician. Not only does that PCP have to identify the correct doctor to refer to, he or she must then, in many cases, set up a meeting to discuss the patient's case. What's the latest high-tech solution to save this kind of effort and energy? Electronic consultations, often called e-consults or e-referrals. The process works this way: a PCP who needs to ask a specialist about a specific patient's care — such as a symptom that needs to be discussed — emails a specialist. Then, the PCP and specialist discuss the patient's situation through messages.
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A new insight for studying dyslexia
Dorothy L. Tengler CommunicationsDyslexia, a widespread learning disability, occurs when an individual has significant difficulty with speed and accuracy of word decoding. Despite different therapeutic approaches and learning strategies to address the reading and writing difficulties, there is no cure for dyslexia. And despite previous studies that developmental dyslexia is caused by dysfunction of structures in the cerebral cortex, the reasons for such alterations remain unknown. However, a recent study conducted by Dr. Katharina von Kriegstein and an international team of experts reveals that people with dyslexia have a weakly developed structure that is not located in the cerebral cortex but at a subcortical processing stage.
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Climate change and the price of being poor
LeRon L. Barton Waste Management & EnvironmentalIf you were to ask most people in low-income communities where climate change would rank in degree of importance, I would wager that it would be pretty low. This is not to say that folks living in these neighborhoods don't care or have no knowledge about the issues that affect the environment, it's just that paying the rent or mortgage, getting to work, and the stress of living in poverty take precedence. However, in 2019, there may be a change in how climate change is viewed, due to new legislation, research, and outreach.
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Tips to help your staff prevent patient data breaches
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationAs a healthcare administrator, you know how important it is to reduce any risk of a patient health information (PHI) data breach. Yet, breaches continue to be a vexing and dangerous problem. A study from Michigan State University found that about 1,800 large data breaches over the course of seven years had to do with lax hospital policies putting information at risk. How can you best assist your staff and your IT to secure the data at your organization? Let the research-based advice in this article be your guide.
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How to help your ER doctors make faster, more accurate diagnoses
Lisa Mulcahy Medical & Allied HealthcareTime is of the absolute essence when it comes to making critical calls in the emergency room. Your hospital's doctors are no doubt experienced in fast evaluation — but could they be making diagnostic decisions even more effectively? Researchers have come up with cutting-edge methods doctors can use to do their jobs better. Consider giving the following advice to your emergency department physicians.
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3 reasons healthcare leaders should consider an executive coach
Catherine Iste Healthcare AdministrationThe healthcare industry is in a state of flux at all levels. Staffing shortages continue, and while the number of students in the pipeline is improving, care organizations of all types are finding it difficult to develop a strong bench. This increases the pressure on leaders at all levels within every type of healthcare institution to creatively lead, inspire, and balance resources with care and business management. Here are three ways leadership coaching can help.
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Growing the muscles of communication in healthcare
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareIn most every aspect of healthcare, communication is key to positive patient outcomes, stellar teamwork, and the seamless operation of organizations and facilities of every size and type. A Tower of Babel scenario in a healthcare-related circumstance is never acceptable. How, why, and when we grow our individual and collective muscles of discourse and conversation are of utmost importance. If you, your colleagues, your leaders, or your employing institution itself are lacking in this regard, it's not too late to change that calculus for the better.
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Strategies to embed social-emotional learning in schools
Brian Stack EducationIn an EdSurge article, Giancarlo Brotto makes a strong case for why the future of education depends on social-emotional learning (SEL), which he sees as a critical indicator to predict college and career readiness. He writes, "social and emotional abilities are said to be indicators of how well a person adjusts to his or her environment, adapts to change and, ultimately, how successful she or he will be in life." Student affect and SEL are important skills and dispositions that schools must find consistent, deliberate ways to assess. As schools think about college and career readiness, they must know that the critical competencies for success are evolving.
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Ghosting patients: Is that effective healthcare leadership?
Christina Thielst Healthcare AdministrationAdministrators of hospitals, clinics and medical groups know there is competitiveness in their ranks just as there is in the rest of the business world. However, some actions to protect business interests may interfere with the quality and safety of patient care. This brings us to "ghosting;" when a physician disappears…or is evacuated away from their patients as a result of the breakdown in a professional relationship. A recent Kaiser Health News article shines a bright light on the potential risk to patient health and the unintended consequences caused by these business decisions.
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Trauma training is imperative for K-12 students, employees
Bambi Majumdar EducationA report released by the Lastinger Center for Learning at the University of Florida shows glaring disparities in trauma training for K-12 students and school employees across various districts in Florida. In-depth analysis and mapping patterns of adolescent trauma show how the lack of trauma support can be detrimental for students, families, and districts as a whole. In the 29 districts surveyed, the researchers found that there was no uniform curriculum or training method for district personnel to help children who have experienced trauma.
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