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Putting the care back in healthcare
Keith Carlson Healthcare AdministrationWith the exponential increase of technology in the delivery of healthcare, we run the risk of dehumanizing healthcare in the interest of expediency and cost containment. At the same time, nurses in hospitals face untenable nurse-patient ratios, and even in milieus like home health and hospice we also feel the crunch of delivering as much care as possible in as little time as we can. Where will these trends take us and how can we put the notion of care back into healthcare?
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Study: Evening stress may be worse than morning stress
Dorothy L. Tengler Mental HealthcareThe Decade of the Brain, as proclaimed by President George H.W. Bush for the 1990s, has come and gone. But many mysteries remain, and President Barack Obama launched his own brain research program in 2013 — The Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. The fact that the brain inspired such a call to action is not surprising in view of the many mysteries still to be revealed.
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The pharmacist salary debate goes on
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalWhen the famous John D. Rockefeller was asked, "How much money is enough?" he reportedly replied, "Just a little bit more." I have yet to meet someone who felt he was overpaid for his work. Underpaid? For sure. Overpaid? Never. We are all, typically, very good at identifying "others" whom we think are paid too much. Rare is the person willing to question her or his own salary and wonder if they are overpaid.
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Online patient reviews of EDs and urgent care centers inform care delivery
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareThe internet has changed how consumers experience healthcare. People now search the internet for information on a particular health problem they may be having, for example. In fact, 6 in 10 people said they turned to the internet for health problems within the previous year, according to a 2013 survey by Pew Research Center. Consumers are increasingly using online rating programs to rate and review hospitals. In a new study, published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, researchers describe and compare the content and ratings of online reviews of urgent care centers and emergency departments (EDs).
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FDA proposes restrictions on flavored nicotine
Dr. Denise A. Valenti Civil & GovernmentThe Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently reported that from 2017 to 2018, there was a 78 percent increase in current e-cigarette use among high school students and a 48 percent increase among middle school students. More than two-thirds of these youth use flavored e-cigarettes. This alarming rise in use has prompted several policy changes that will directly impact youth appeal and youth access to flavored tobacco products. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., has taken action by proposing to prevent youth access to flavored tobacco products.
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Doubling the dosage of influenza may improve immunogenicity in solid-organ…
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareInfluenza infection poses special challenges for solid-organ transplant recipients, as "the flu" increases their risk for bacterial pneumonia, admission to intensive care, and death. Furthermore, research suggests influenza infection can even increase the risk for allograft rejection and poorer allograft survival. Providing an annual vaccination that contains 15 micrograms of antigen per viral strain is an effective preventative strategy in solid-organ transplant recipients. Now, the results of a new study show that high-dose vaccines possessing 60 micrograms antigen per influenza strain enhance vaccine immunogenicity in this population.
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Take an overview of your hospital’s discharge protocol
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationYou undoubtedly know how important it is for patients to be discharged promptly and safely at your hospital — but at so many facilities today, making that happen is a challenge. Time constraints, confusion during handoffs, and a lack of patient post-care awareness can make discharges unsuccessful and can lead to readmissions, or a worst-case scenario, patient mortality. Use a focused approach to evaluate how well your discharge system is working, and make necessary changes using this research-based information.
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Primary care physician visits drop among patients with employer plans
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationPeople with an employer-sponsored health plan tend to visit their primary care physician (PCPs) less than those people without, but those with work-sponsored insurance are more commonly seeing nurse practitioners and physician assistants than earlier this decade, according to a new Health Care Cost Institute report. Per the report, researchers said they found an 18 percent decrease in PCP office visits between 2012 and 2016; however, there was a correlating 14 percent increase in office visits for all providers. All of this new data suggests that non-PCPs are seeing more patients than their PCP counterparts for their care.
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Pharmacists well-positioned to support individuals living with dementia
Sheilamary Koch PharmaceuticalEach year 7.7 million new cases of dementia are diagnosed worldwide. In the United States alone, age-related dementia affects at least 5 million people — a number expected to rise in upcoming years as life expectancy increases and more baby boomers age. The high percentage of the population affected — around 1 in every 6 people aged 80 years and older — makes dementia something that medical professionals across all sectors will undoubtedly encounter. Healthcare professionals and pharmacists who are person-centered in their approach will be able to provide much more effective care for this growing population.
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Study refutes effectiveness of drug combination for treatment-resistant…
Dorothy L. Tengler Mental HealthcareMany treatment options are available for depression, but how well treatment works depends on the type of depression and its severity. Antidepressants take time — usually 2 to 4 weeks — to work, and often, symptoms such as sleep, appetite, and concentration problems improve before mood lifts. However, despite advances in understanding the psychopharmacology and biomarkers of major depression and the introduction of several novel classes of antidepressants, only 60 to 70 percent of patients with depression respond to antidepressant therapy.
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