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A Critical Conversation on the Third Rail of Healthcare Reform: Cost
Getting on track
More than three-and-a-half years ago, the RAND Corporation — a non-profit institution working to improve policy and decision-making through research and analysis — "guessed" that healthcare was going to come back on the political agenda, and in 2006, began work to build the analytic ability to evaluate the myriad healthcare proposals that would come into the national spotlight.
KELLY PRICE |
Pass/Fail: 2009 Tennessee Women's Health Report Card Has Some of Both
"There is still work to do."
That succinct statement from Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Susan R. Cooper, MSN, RN, sums up the sentiment of health professionals across the state reviewing data collected for the 2009 Tennessee Women's Health Report Card. "This report is consistent with other national reports on the state of women's health and can serve as a road map for charting our journey to better health," Cooper continued.
CINDY SANDERS |
UPDATED: HCA, State Mull Appeal over Spring Hill CON Ruling
Oct. 3 is the Deadline
When Chancery Court Judge Claudia C. Bonnyman ruled on Sept. 3 to throw out HCA's hard-won certificate of need for Spring Hill Hospital, she did something that hadn't been done before: she tossed out a CON granted by the Health Services and Development Agency (HSDA).
UPDATE: HCA will not appeal second ruling.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD |
Bat Those Baby Blues!
Latisse Enhances Lashes for Eyes of All Colors
Just before the New Year began, the FDA approved a new prescription product that significantly enhances eyelashes.
LYNNE JETER |
Informed Consent
Is It Being Adequately Taught and Are Today's Doctors Doing It Well?
If you're a physician, think back to that first time you sat down with a patient to obtain his or her informed consent. Did you know what to say – and how to say it? According to Kevin Pho, MD, a New Hampshire internist and author of the prolific and popular medical Internet blog KevinMD.com, "most medical students don't take classes on how to discuss informed consent, that is, talking about the risks and benefits of a medical procedure with a patient." He suggested that all medical schools should at least find the time for a single day-long session devoted to the issue.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD |
Safe and Sound
MGMA Recommends Sound Business Practices to Ensure Patient Safety in the Ambulatory Setting
Safety concerns aren't limited to inpatient settings.
Although most would agree with this axiom, the historical focus on safety programming and research initiatives has really centered on hospital stays. Yet, the ambulatory setting is also rife with potential safety pitfalls.
CINDY SANDERS |
| REIMBURSEMENT & ACOs Focus |
Outlook on Senior Housing
Changing Economy, Changing Needs Shape Design Plans
As with other housing sectors, senior living communities have definitely felt the impact of the nation's sluggish economy. During this hiccup in development, designers have also begun to take note of emerging trends and new realities for those seeking senior housing in the coming years. Like most every segment of society, baby boomers are leaving their impact on the conversation about how retirement living should look and feel.
CINDY SANDERS |
Abe's Garden Holds Memory Dear
Facility Seeks to Establish National Alzheimer's & Dementia Model
For 45 years, Abram C. Shmerling, MD, practiced medicine in the Nashville community. In 1952, the respected internist established the Woodbine Clinic, one of Nashville's first fully integrated medical clinics. In the late 1970s, he became a founding member of the medical staff and the first board chairman at Southern Hills Hospital.
CINDY SANDERS |
SOS: Save Our Seniors
Campaign Decries Impact of Proposed Cuts on Senior Care Facilities
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and its affiliated National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) have launched a vigorous national campaign to make Congress aware of what proposed Medicare cuts and potential reform measures could mean to some of the nation's oldest, frailest and most vulnerable citizens. The SOS – Save Our Seniors – campaign is a grassroots measure encouraging long-term care providers to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill.
CINDY SANDERS |
Bordeaux Long-Term Care Opens Respiratory Unit
Recently, Bordeaux Long-Term Care (BLTC) added to its clinical offerings by opening the Respiratory Center of Middle Tennessee to bridge a gap that has existed between an inpatient hospital stay and return home for patients with dependence on mechanical ventilation.
CINDY SANDERS |
HHS Issues New Guidelines for Breach Notifications
We have all seen the headlines – a hospital employee leafs through a celebrity's medical record … a laptop containing patient records is unaccounted for … or patient John O. Smith's EOB is mailed to John Q. Smith. While these privacy breaches make the front page, many more incidents go unnoticed or unreported, leaving individuals affected by the breach unaware of the risk.
STEPHANIE S. PIERCE |
Physician Spotlight: Brian Jefferson, MD
Ask Dr. Wiki
It's a Wiki Wiki World!
In March of 2007, the word "wiki" entered the online Oxford English Dictionary.
In the language of the internet, a wiki is a Web site that allows the easy creation of interlinked Web pages, using a simplified markup language within the browsers. The developer of the first wiki software described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work."
KELLY PRICE |
HEALTHCARE ENTERPRISE: RegionalCare Hospital Partners
Rash & Rutledge Once Again Eyeing Non-Urban Markets
Marty Rash is at it again, launching a company in the mold of Province Healthcare, which he sold in 2005 to LifePoint Hospitals for $1.7 billion in cash, stock and assumed debt. This time around, the venture is called RegionalCare Hospital Partners … and again Rash is teamed up with Province veterans John Rutledge and Sam Moody. Rash is chairman and CEO; Rutledge is president and COO; and Moody is senior vice president of operations.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD |
Redefining Aging Gracefully
Cenegenics Takes an Alternative View
It's a safe bet that you've seen the widely disseminated advertisement for Cenegenics, an anti-aging medical protocol with practices nationwide, including one in the Nashville area.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD |
Skyline Tailors Stroke Rehabilitation Services for Seniors
While a stroke can happen to anyone, it's seniors who are more at risk, and it's seniors who have a tougher time in rehabilitation. Thus, Skyline Medical Center's inpatient Rehabilitation Center, on the second and third floors of the main hospital on Dickerson Pike, designs its stroke-rehab services with older patients in mind.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD |
Squeaking Hip Replacements Annoy and Worry Patients and Physicians
Go ahead. Log on to www.youtube.com and type the phrase "squeaking or squeaky hip replacements" in the search box. What pops up is an array of home videos, most featuring senior patients, who are documenting a noise their replacement joint makes with each step. For some, the noise resembles the sound of air released in sporadic bursts from a child's balloon. For others, the noise – all clichés aside – sounds just like a fingernail quickly scraping down a blackboard. For some of the patients, the sound is a popping, occasionally accompanied by the squeak.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD |
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