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 Nashville 2010 Archives

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Battling Infant Mortality
The Key is Fewer Preterm Births
When Vanderbilt University hosted Family Re-Union 2010 in June, the event occurred with a gloomy backdrop – Tennessee's ranking as 47 in the nation for infant mortality, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which publishes the annual KIDS COUNT reports on child wellbeing.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD

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Physician Spotlight: Sara F. Patterson, MD
P is for pediatrics, passion, parenthood, patience and professionalism. P, however, is not for perfection.
CINDY SANDERS

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Reducing Unplanned Hospital Readmissions
A Look at Care Transitions
Any business operation that has 20 percent of its goods or services returned should be in the market for serious reevaluation of its current products and production methods.
KELLY PRICE

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The Payer's Perspective
Carriers Share Ideas to Boost Providers' Bottom Lines
A textbook example of a symbiotic relationship, payers and providers need each other to survive. Despite this co-dependent nature, the two groups often find themselves at odds. In today's complicated reimbursement landscape with increasing pressure from all sides to improve quality, eliminate waste and maximize efficiency, payers and providers must find new, sustainable ways to work together to remodel the healthcare delivery system.
CINDY SANDERS

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HEALTHCARE ENTERPRISE: InVivoLink Offers Unprecedented Data Collection on Orthopaedics Implant Procedures
A Nashville-based company launched this spring is already building a roster of clients interested in the improved workflow of orthopaedic implantation procedures such as hip and knee replacements. Called InVivoLink (IVL), the company offers three Web-based applications targeting physicians, hospitals and manufacturers – and then helps them communicate with each other.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD

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Maximizing Reimbursements
In an environment of rising costs and diminishing returns, it's easy to hone in on contracted rates as the sole source of financial woes. Certainly, negotiating favorable reimbursements with payers is key to a healthy bottom line, but it's really only half the story.
CINDY SANDERS

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New Immunization Rules Impact School, Day Care Enrollment
It's been a decade since Tennessee last updated immunization requirements for children. An enhanced schedule, which became official at the end of 2009, impacts those enrolling in day care, pre-school, elementary/middle school and college.
CINDY SANDERS

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The New MTMC Will Open on Oct. 2
Offers Spacious Patient Rooms, Cutting-Edge IT and Nurse Conveniences
The new Middle Tennessee Medical Center (MTMC) in Murfreesboro is a hub of activity these days, what with equipment and furniture deliveries, information technology and communication installations, and orientation sessions for physicians and staff. On Oct. 2, the doors open to patients
SHARON H. FITZGERALD

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Children Are Not Small Adults
Nanopediatrics Emerges to Ensure Nanotechnology Encompasses Kids

Imagine a pump the size of a molecule delivering medicine directly in the body where it's needed. Or a miniscule tool programmed to seek out and destroy the first cancer cells of a tumor. That's the promise of nanomedicine, medical applications in the much broader field of nanotechnology. Yet, as such customized medical innovations are being researched, Edward R.B. McCabe III, MD, has one reminder: Kids are different.


SHARON H. FITZGERALD

Vital Signs
When the Nashville Health Care Council released the results of its latest industry economic impact study, most local journalists — including this one — hurried back to their newsrooms to compile what were, essentially, different versions of the same story.
ERIN LAWLEY

New BCBST Good Health Club
Helping Doctors Talk to Patients about Childhood Obesity
In June, the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released the report F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2010. It revealed that 38 states have adult obesity rates above 25 percent, and Tennessee tied Alabama in second place with a rate of 31.6 percent. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is working to nip that problem in the bud by targeting the problem of childhood obesity with a new education program designed for pediatricians and family practitioners to share with their patients.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD

Using HIT Meaningfully
It's interesting how certain words or phrases quickly evolve to become an integral part of the lexicon. "Meaningful use" held no real significance in the healthcare space a decade ago. Today, every provider and administrator is aware of the phrase and its impact on HIT incentive funding and future reimbursements.

Grand Rounds August


Preparing Your Business for Disaster With Support From Peak 10
It's no secret that the healthcare companies of Middle Tennessee are transitioning to more electronic methods to streamline business. Companies who rely upon the availability of their mission-critical data, applications or IT operations know they have to be prepared for hardware failure or loss of access to equipment. This dependence on fail-proof data has created a need for partners that can provide customers with assistance in disaster preparedness and recovery. Peak 10 Nashville, with its world-class data centers and expert support team, can be used in conjunction with business' own IT facilities to provide a more complete business continuity solution.
Drew Fassett,Vice President & General Manager,Peak 10 Nashville

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There's an App for That!
Medical Applications for Mobile Technology are Burgeoning
With mobile technologies advancing, so too are medical uses of those technologies – and the ride has just begun, predicts one expert.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD