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New ways actors can benefit your doctors-in-training
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationYou're no doubt familiar with "standardized patients" — professional actors who role-play with medical students and residents to simulate real-life patient interactions. Often, these interactive experiences teach doctors-in-training how to handle basic communication situations, such as how to prescribe medication or explain a diagnosis. New research initiatives, however, are greatly expanding the knowledge medical students and residents can glean from working with actors, leading to more emotional insight when they work with real patients, as well as better effectiveness at sharing medical information with those real patients.
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How to provide more transparency for patients at your practice
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationEvery primary care physician knows this undeniable truth: patients today are more informed about their health than ever (which is a very good thing). Thanks to information about vital concerns like medical conditions, insurance and billing that they can read about on the web, many patients aren't shy about wanting you, as their doctor, to allow them as much access to their care and records as possible. Read on to find out the right ways to provide more transparency for your patients, while respecting the rules of your healthcare organization, and relevant laws as well.
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Massachusetts passes new law to combat opioid abuse
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalOn July 19, the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed a new package of legislation aimed to combat the persistent problem of opioid addiction, abuse and overdose in the state. Referred to as the "CARE Act" (an act for prevention and access to appropriate care and treatment of addiction), this 50-page, 97-section, piece of legislation hopes to address an issue that is said to be taking the lives of five people per day in Massachusetts. As a Massachusetts pharmacist myself, I’m encouraged to see that this issue remains a high priority.
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Tech titans stake claims in healthcare arena
Joan Spitrey Medical & Allied HealthcareWhen names like Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft exert their forces, entire industries are changed and transformed. With nearly $3.5 trillion spent in healthcare and rising, it should be no surprise that these titans of modern industry would want to get in on the action. As more patients need to be cared for from our aging baby boomer generation, cost-containment solutions are coming from the tech world.
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Questions raised after transplant programs suspended, threatened with decertification
Chelsea Adams Healthcare AdministrationThe suspension of a Colorado-based organ transplant program and threats to decertify New York City's organ procurement organization have raised questions for patients on waiting lists. Some 230 patients waiting for a kidney, liver or pancreas at Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver must now look for new organ transplant programs in the area. Porter Adventist informed patients in July that the hospital is voluntarily suspending operations.
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Action vs. nonaction in healthcare
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareIn any situation we encounter, the choice to act or not act is almost always there. Do we help the little old lady cross the street or not? Healthcare, medicine, and nursing are built upon action: we jump into the fray, we take decisive action, and we save lives. But what does it mean when an organization chooses not to act? What are the repercussions when a hospital, surgical center, or other healthcare facility makes a choice to do nothing, even when the consequences could be dire?
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New study: Intravenous alteplase may not be necessary for mild stroke
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareThe results of a new study, published in the July 10 edition of JAMA, suggest alteplase may not be necessary for stroke patients who do not demonstrate disabling deficits upon presentation. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the American Heart Association, with approximately 795,000 people experiencing a stroke every year. Drug treatment involving intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase is the mainstay of treatment for acute ischemic strokes (AIS).
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What spa clients are demanding now
Elizabeth Donat RetailWith clients’ increased awareness of product ingredients, sourcing and regulation, it's no surprise that they are coming into our spas and medical spas with more questions, concerns and demands. Clients regularly consult the Environmental Working Group's website, study the Goop newsletters and watch their favorite TV doctors for advice. It's our role as spa professionals to be cognizant of the current demands of our clients so that we can steer them in the right direction while meeting their needs.
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How to make more effective patient referrals
Lisa Mulcahy Medical & Allied HealthcareWhen it comes to sending a patient to the proper specialist for the right reasons, some doctors tend to over- or underperform. You never want to deny a patient the care he or she truly needs, but you also want to make sure you're not causing that patient undue stress or financial hardship for an unnecessary referral, either. Research into this topic has made it easier for doctors to decide the right course of action when it comes to appropriate referrals. Here's what you need to know.
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Can long-term tolerance of transplanted organs be improved?
Chelsea Adams Medical & Allied HealthcareHeart transplants survive longer in mice with genetically enhanced DEPTOR, a regulatory protein in immune cells. The study was conducted at Boston Children's Hospital and published in the July 3 issue of the American Journal of Transplantation. In the experiment, mice that received heart transplantations but no immunosuppressive drugs survived an average of seven days. However, mice treated with genetically enhanced DEPTOR activity in their T cells survived an average of 35 days.
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