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Private patient advocates can help dentists, too
Tammy Hinojos Oral & Dental HealthcareEvery dentist knows there are certain types of patients who tend to have trouble managing their oral healthcare. The largest group is aging seniors. As the aging population in America continues to grow, the term "senior orphans" has come to describe elderly patients without family. To meet this growing need, a segment of the healthcare population is growing as well. Private patient advocates exist to help patients navigate an increasingly complicated (and ever-changing) healthcare system by providing the extra support they need. But they also offer many benefits to dentists, too.
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HHS proposes rule to improve interoperability of electronic health information
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its proposed new rules during the first day of the annual Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference to "support seamless and secure access, exchange and use of electronic health information." According to the release supporting the announcements, the rules, issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), are designed to increase "choice and competition" while "fostering innovation that promotes patient access to and control over their health information."
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The importance of relationships to healthcare delivery
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareWhen a patient walks through the door of a physician's office, the success of that visit is largely predicated upon the relationship between the doctor and the patient. If a nurse is readying an anxious patient for surgery, the nurse's ability to connect with that individual and provide compassionate care is crucial. And when a school nurse tends to a disabled child's tracheostomy, the previously established trust between child and adult is central to comfort and a sense of mutuality. Healthcare is built upon a foundation of relationships; without those links, the provision of such care can feel sterile, lifeless, and devoid of any deeper meaning.
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HIMSS releases report forecasting healthcare trends for 2019
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcareIn late January, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) announced the availability of a new report, "2019 Healthcare Trends Forecast: The Beginning of a Consumer-Driven Reformation." The paper features commentary and analysis from leaders across HIMSS, Healthbox, Health 2.0 and PCHAlliance, each of whom have a bird's-eye view of industry trends and the levers of change. The report is organized around four key trends: digital health implications and applications, consumer impact, financial and demographic challenges, and issues of data governance and policy.
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Detecting hidden anxiety, depression in children
Dorothy L. Tengler Mental HealthcareAs many as 1 in 5 children suffer from anxiety or depression, starting in preschool years. Early diagnosis and appropriate services for children and their families can make a difference in the lives of children with mental disorders. However, when children suffer in silence because they never exhibit the disruptive behaviors that would lead to a referral for diagnostic assessment, how can parents be sure their child is anxious or depressed? Ryan McGinnis, a biomedical engineer at the University of Vermont, led a team to develop a tool that could help screen children who were internalizing disorders to catch them for early treatment.
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CVS Health to give $100 million to take on the social determinants of health
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcareSocial determinants of health are conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, conditions in these various environments and settings have been referred to as "place." In addition to the more material attributes of "place," the patterns of social engagement and sense of security and well-being are also affected by where people live. Following on this impact, and CVS Health's $69 billion acquisition of Aetna, the company announced that it will give $100 million over the next five years to improve community health.
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Ways to protect your healthcare workers from workplace violence
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationPatient-driven abuse: it's a sad but true reality for nurses, doctors and medical assistants today. As a hospital administrator, keeping your staff safe is obviously an essential priority, and your organization no doubt has policies in place to make this happen. Are those policies as effective as they can be, though? Reassess your strategies by reviewing and implementing the following research-driven findings.
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Study: Female brains may age more slowly
Tammy Hinojos Medical & Allied Healthcare"Anything you can do, I can do better! I can do anything better than you…" It's an oldie for sure, but it turns out, the catchy tune by Irving Berlin from "Annie Get Your Gun" might just have been on to something. It turns out that female brains tend to age more slowly than those of men, researchers report. Women's brains appear to be about three years younger than those of men at the same chronological age on average. This finding could provide one clue to why women tend to stay mentally sharp longer than men, the authors noted.
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Study: Patients experiencing high trauma from hospitalizations had more…
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareHospitalization can be traumatizing for patients. Previous research shows that one in three patients who survived an ICU stay for an acute lung injury suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Disturbances in patients’ sleep, nutrition, mobility, and mood are common in medical inpatients, and these disturbances can be traumatic for patients. Traumatic hospitalization can also increase the risk of readmissions and emergency department (ED) visits. The results of a new study, published in JAMA, show that patients who experience high trauma of hospitalization may have a greater risk of an ED visit or readmission within 30 days compared with patients with low trauma exposure.
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Financial world weighs in on new CMS price rule
Christina Thielst Healthcare AdministrationThe Motley Fool is a media channel dedicated to helping the world invest for a better financial future. It is no surprise, then, that it has addressed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) new Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System rule, which requires hospitals to publish their standard charges online in a machine-readable format. In The Fool’s words, "hospitals are now required to list prices for all of their services, thereby giving patients a clearer notion of what to expect. But while it's a good idea in theory, so far, the rule is only adding to consumers' confusion without in any way alleviating the cost burden for patients."
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