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Price transparency can be exciting
Dr. Jonathan Kaplan Healthcare AdministrationHealthcare providers worry about the advent of price transparency for many reasons. It could be the concern that patients will focus on cost rather than the doctor-patient relationship, or they worry their competitors will check their price points and try to undercut them. With various insurance plans and deductibles, it's considered too difficult to offer actionable pricing insights to the consumer. All of these concerns are understandable. But they're also surmountable, as detailed below.
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5 ways to improve patient satisfaction through pain management
Lisa Mulcahy Medical & Allied HealthcareWhen it comes to making positive impressions after a hospital stay, the level of discomfort a patient deals with is a key factor. Research presented to the American Academy of Pain Medicine found that when pain is managed properly after surgery, patients reported higher satisfaction with their overall experience at a facility. It's easy to see why. A comfortable patient not only isn't in distress, but he or she feels listened to and truly noticed by hospital caregivers. Here are five crucial points you should to employ to make your organization's pain management protocol more patient-friendly — and do it safely.
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OPTN offers recommendations as unexpected, donor-derived hepatitis C transmissions…
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareThe opioid epidemic has affected nearly every Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) region by increasing the number of organ donors dying from drug overdoses. While the tragic epidemic has increased the number of organs available for transplant, many worry that the donors' drug abuse increases the recipients’ risk of unexpected, donor-derived hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmissions. While the safety and efficacy of HCV treatments in transplants are improving, unexpected, donor-derived transmissions have been trending upwards. The OPTN Ad Hoc Disease Transmission Advisory Committee (DTAC) reviewed these cases and, based on their findings, has made several recommendations.
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Researchers present new implications for treating sickle cell disease
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareIn sickle cell disease (SCD), hemoglobin molecules form into fibers that act like stiff rods within the red blood cells. Although the causes of SCD have been known at the molecular level for decades, the disease has never been studied at the level of detail it recently was by biomedical engineers in the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering. According to David Wood, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the university, the researchers were surprised at what they discovered at the nanoscale — that the disease self-assembly process is less efficient. This means that developing new medicines that are effective at lower doses and cause fewer side effects might be easier than originally thought.
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Putting ‘human’ back in healthcare human resources
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareWhen we think of healthcare industry human resources departments, we may readily think of the processes of hiring and firing, the doling out of benefits packages, and other such responsibilities of HR professionals. In the worlds of healthcare, medicine, and nursing, employees can feel like so much cannon fodder when corporate interests appear to override the personal needs of individual staff members and the public whom they serve. Thus, we need to reevaluate the role of human resources and consider once again reasserting more of the "human" side into the mix.
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How to increase safety for your hospital’s outpatient procedures
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationOutpatient surgeries are becoming more and more common, even encompassing procedures like spinal fusion, retinal operations and total joint replacement. Hospitals and patients often prefer outpatient procedures because they lower costs and take less time than surgery might during a traditional hospital stay. Yet, safety must also be paramount. As a hospital administrator, it has be your first priority. Research has shown how specific outpatient procedure strategies can ensure great outcomes, so use the cutting-edge info in this article to evaluate and improve your facility's ambulatory care approach.
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5 surprising ways to create a more patient-friendly vibe at your practice
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationYou know that patient satisfaction is crucial. Because of this, you no doubt check all the standard boxes to keep people happy — you're flexible with appointment times, try not to make patients wait too long, and instruct your staff to be courteous. Cutting-edge research suggests that these steps may not be enough. Your patients can feel a lot more reassured, supported and comfortable if you make the effort to employ some unexpected — but incredibly effective — steps to create a more helpful, inclusive practice environment.
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Treating bacteria in urine: IDSA recommendation update
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareAccurate diagnosis of urinary tract infections depends on both the presence of symptoms and a positive urine culture, although in most outpatient settings this diagnosis is made without the benefit of culture. Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB), the presence of bacteria in the urine without the symptoms of an infection, is common and has been a contributor to antibiotic misuse, which promotes resistance. According to updated ASB guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), which recommend avoiding screening in certain groups of patients who don’t have symptoms, such as healthy non-pregnant women, elderly patients, those with diabetes and spinal cord injuries, new groups include infants and children, those who have had joint replacement or organ transplants.
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Using point-of-care ultrasound can shorten pulse checks during CPR
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareEmergency department physicians have started using point-of-care ultrasounds (POCUS or POC ultrasound) to identify potentially reversible causes of pulseless electrical activity (PEA) in cardiac arrest patients. Increasing use of POC ultrasound has even led to its current recommendation by the American Heart Association (AHA). In PEA, the monitor will show electrical activity in the heart but the patient will not have a palpable pulse. Also known as electromechanical dissociation, PEA accounts for approximately 20 percent of out-of-hospital deaths.
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Can patient-physician recordings be good for care?
Christina Thielst Healthcare AdministrationHistorically, healthcare administrators have been concerned about the risks of patients recording their conversations. Perhaps they should be more concerned about the risks of patients not having a recording of their physician or other caregiver. A recent article in Healthcare Executive examines the issue from an ethics perspective and looks at the benefits for the patient’s understanding of what is being communicated during an encounter. Patients or their family caregivers can replay sessions to clarify information they believe they have received, or simply to reassure themselves.
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