Grand Rounds November


Healthcare Costs Are Now a Tweet Away

At the end of September, Nashville-based consumer technology company change:healthcare announced real answers about healthcare costs are available in 140 characters or less . In 60 seconds, consumers can now have the actual cost of thousands of prescriptions and information about medical issues delivered directly to their fingertips via Twitter.
 
Company developers realized that the social media phenomenon could extend consumer information into the exam room. They developed the first phase of what will be a much larger application that delivers accurate healthcare costs and information to consumers' fingertips, helping them be more informed and potentially save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
 
Consumers can simply tweet healthcare questions such as "what is diabetes" to @askch and receive a short description and a link to more information. Or a patient could tweet "cost of Nexium near 37209," by the doctor's office, and find out the average price in that zip code is $255. Then, the consumer could ask the same question near their home zip code and find out the average price is only $175.
 
"It's not everything you need to know, but it gets you to a well-informed starting point when you want to make a smart healthcare purchase," said Christopher Parks, co-founder and CEO of change:healthcare.
 

STHS Launches Stroke Network

Saint Thomas Health Services recently launched the Saint Thomas Stroke Network, an expansion of network services currently provided by the Saint Thomas Chest Pain Network. The Stroke Network brings neurological expertise to local EMS and hospital providers across Middle Tennessee & Southern Kentucky.  
 
"This partnership allows Saint Thomas Health Services – and all of its hospitals – to join forces with local providers to offer enhanced stroke care to the region," said Ranee Curtis, director of Chest Pain & Stroke Network. "So far, centers are located in Hickman Community Hospital in Centerville, Tenn. & Lincoln County Medical Center, Fayetteville, Tenn.  The services will be expanded to the entire Chest Pain Network by the end of the year."
 

Southern Hills Breaks Ground on Brentwood East Medical Plaza

Developer John Brewer has broken ground on a two-story, 34,000 square foot medical office building at the signalized intersection of Concord Road and Nolensville Pike, in the southeastern corner of Davidson County and northeast corner of Williamson County. The project has been in the works for 16 months with Brewer working closely with Southern Hills Medical Center in establishing the viability of the project. "We're responding to our community's changing needs by adjusting our services and expanding our borders to provide services closer to where people live and work," said Southern Hills CEO Thomas Ozburn, FACHE, CMPE.
 
The building was pre-leased with the majority of the ground floor space leased to HCA for a new imaging center and physician groups. Additional medical specialists who have leased space in the building include an established dental practice, an orthopaedic and sports medicine group, a heart and vascular clinic, an obstetrics/gynecology practice and a primary care physician.
 

Morel and Davis Open New Pediatric Group

Gabriela Morel, MD, and Gordon Davis, MD, both board-certified pediatricians, opened Southern Pediatrics in the Cool Springs area last month. The new practice is located at 740 Cool Springs Blvd in the Physicians Plaza building (near the Marriott Hotel). The new office utilizes technology to enhance patient safety and improve parent convenience. For more information, visit www.southernpeds.com.
 

Local Red Cross Receives Grant for Health-Related Care

The Nashville Area Red Cross recently received a grant to help with funding health-related disaster relief services. The Baptist Healing Trust Grant, totaling $10,543, will be used to provide financial assistance to replace lost emergency medications and supplies and to fund medical co-pays and other services for victims of local disasters
 

Computable Genomix Announces Grant Contest For Researchers

Memphis-based Computable Genomix launched a contest on October 1 to coincide with the release of GeneIndexer, the company's next-generation Web-based text-mining tool. "Publish or Perish" will award a $10,000 grant to each of the first three researchers to publish a discovery made using the online genomics research tool GeneIndexer. Interested researchers should register for the contest by Dec. 31, 2009. In order to conduct their research, entrants will receive a free one-month subscription to GeneIndexer and will have the opportunity to participate in a training Webinar on November 10, addressing the use of GeneIndexer for discoveries using high-throughput genomic data.
 
In addition to the grant, winners will be reimbursed for journal publication fees and will receive one free annual subscription to GeneIndexer. More information about the Publish or Perish contest, including registration details, criteria, deadlines, and contest updates, can be found at www.geneindexercontest.com.
 

LearningRx Opens New Cognitive Skills Training Center in Murfreesboro

LearningRx, which specializes in identifying and correcting underlying cognitive skill deficiencies that keep people from achieving their full potential in school, business, or life, has opened a new location at 2615 Medical Center Parkway in Murfreesboro. The center, owned and operated by Deana Wildish and Hazel Matheny, uses a comprehensive skills assessment to first identify deficient areas such as auditory or visual processing, attention, comprehension, memory, and problem solving. A customized, one-on-one program is then developed to address weak areas by focusing on tools to strengthen deficient skills.
 

Nephrology Associates Expands Services, Reach

Nephrology Associates recently announced the addition of Vikul Patel, MD, to its team of kidney specialists. Patel will provide care to patients at Nephrology Associates' Lebanon office and will also support the nephrologists practicing in Carthage and Mount Juliet.
 
Patel has extensive expertise in home dialysis, an increasingly popular procedure that Nephrology Associates offers for patients' comfort and convenience. Most recently, he completed a nephrology fellowship at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis. Patel did his internal medicine residency at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Chattanooga Unit, where he was named the Department of Medicine "Resident of the Year," received the department's "Resident Research Award" and sat on the graduate medical education committee.
 
In other news, the practice opened a part-time office in Waverly over the summer to meet a growing need in that community. Ashish Soni, MD, who has specialty expertise in hypertension, is the physician at the new office located at 102 Hillwood Drive. The clinic offers a comprehensive range of services for the management of kidney disease, kidney stones, hypertension and dialysis.
 

Mendez Joins Saint Thomas Neurology Group

Neurologist Oscar E. Mendez, MD, who specializes in adult neurology and sleep medicine, has joined the Saint Thomas Neurology Group. Prior to the move, Mendez served as the president of the medical staff at Cumberland Medical Center in Crossville, where he received the Physician of the Year Award.
 
He is board certified in neurology and fluent in Spanish and English. Mendez attended medical school at the University of Zulia in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and completed his residency in neurology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he also fulfilled his clinical neurophysiology fellowship.
 

Center for Vision Development Opens

The Center for Vision Development recently opened its doors on the new Franklin location. Christina Danley, OD, and her husband, Chad, who serves as practice coordinator, own the center. Dr. Danley is a developmental optometrist, treating patients of all ages.
 
As a developmental optometrist, Danley takes a different approach than a general optometrist. She is most interested in the entire visual system and how it has developed within the individual. With a background in neuroscience, Danley's attention often shifts to the brain and how it is controlling the eyes of her patients. The new practice is located on Holiday Court in Franklin.
 

Skyline Announces New Physicians

Skyline Medical Center has announced two new additions to its medical staff: Brian O'Shaughnessy, MD, and Andrew Vranic, MD.
 
O'Shaughnessy specializes in neurosurgery, spine surgery, spinal oncology and scoliosis. He received his medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine and completed his residency program at Northwestern University. He was a Fellow at Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis in adult and pediatric spinal deformity surgery and was chief resident of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Northwestern University, McGraw Medical Center. 
 
Vranic specializes in internal medicine and is a team member of the Hospitalist Program at Skyline. He received his medical degree from the University of Florida College of Medicine and completed his residency program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
 

Hatcher, Daniels Join Baptist Hospitalist Program

Baptist Hospital recently added two physicians to its hospitalist program, Stephanie Hatcher, MD, and Negar Daniels, MD. The program includes hospitalists who specialize in inpatient care and provide 24-hour, on-site coverage, arranging patients' care from admission to discharge.
 
Hatcher most recently served as an assistant professor of internal medicine for the University of Tennessee at Baptist Hospital residency program. She earned her medical degree from Meharry Medical College and completed her internship and residency with the University of Tennessee at Baptist Hospital. Among her many professional memberships, Hatcher serves as treasurer for the Nashville Academy of Medicine and is on the drug utilization review committee for the Bureau of TennCare. She was honored as one of the 2008 Top 10 Women to Watch by Nashville Medical News.
 

Alive Hospice Announces Staff Additions

Alive Hospice has added Jeanna Emert as annual fund manager. In that role, Emert directs fund-raising efforts that enable the nonprofit agency to provide care to uninsured and underinsured patients, as well as provide grief support services. A graduate of Harvard University, she formerly served as director of development for Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee.
 
Keith King has been named Alive Hospice's community outreach coordinator. In that role, King educates the Middle Tennessee community about the care and services of Alive Hospice through contact with faith, civic, social and other groups and representing Alive Hospice at community events. A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, King was previously employed by Enterprise Rent-a-Car and is a member of the NAACP and the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity.
 

Owen Joins Arthritis Specialists of Nashville

Marcus Owen, MD, has joined the staff of Arthritis Specialists of Nashville and Centennial Medical Center. He is board certified in rheumatology and internal medicine.
 
Owen is a graduate of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine, where he also completed his residency. He completed a fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. He is fluent in written and spoken Spanish, including medical terminology. Owen sees patients at both the Patterson Street and Hermitage locations.
 

Salloum, Vallejo Join Southern Hills Hospitalist Program

Southern Hills Medical Center announced the addition of Nicole Salloum, MD, and Victor Vallejo, MD, as the newest members of the hospitalist team.
 
Salloum completed her internship and residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center after receiving her medical degree from Louisiana State University Health Science Center. She is board eligible by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
 
Vallejo earned his medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and completed his internship and residency at University of Tennessee affiliated hospitals. He comes to Southern Hills from Charleston, where he worked as a hospitalist at Trident Medical Center and served on the diabetes awareness and critical care committees.
 

Centerstone Research Institute Promotes Two Executives

Centerstone Research Institute (CRI), a not-for-profit organization of Centerstone, has announced the promotions of two top executives: Thomas W. Doub, PhD, to Chief Operating Officer, and Wayne Easterwood to Chief Information Officer.
 
As COO, Doub will oversee all clinical informatics and research activities at CRI, including clinical research, program evaluation, grant writing, dissemination, and analytics. He has worked with CRI since 2003, previously serving as Vice President for Research
 
In his new role, Easterwood will oversee the direction of information and data integrity of the multi-state Centerstone organization. This responsibility includes oversight of data centers, help desks, communication networks, software development and enterprise-wide systems such as the Electronic Health Record systems. He has been employed with Centerstone for 13 years and was previously Vice President for Information Systems.
 

HCA Employees Pledge $2.3 Million to Care for Community

Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), which has 163 hospitals in 20 states and England, announced last month that its corporate office employees pledged $2.3 million during its annual "Caring for the Community" employee giving campaign. Including HCA Foundation matching gifts and other contributions, the total impact of the 2009 "Caring for the Community" campaign is a record $3.2 million. HCA also announced that Teryna Edwards is the recipient of this year's Phil Patton Community Service Award.
 
"Humanitarianism and volunteerism are deeply embedded in HCA's culture, and that is demonstrated by this year's record response," said Bruce Moore, president of HCA's Outpatient Services Group and this year's Leadership Campaign Chair.
 

LBMC Expands Tax Staff

Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC (LBMC), one of the Southeast's largest accounting and business consulting firms, has added several new staff members to its practice. Carol Ann Dawson, Krystal Usrey and Meredith Cucuel have joined the Brentwood office in staff positions in the tax department. Dawson earned a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University and a master's of accountancy from Belmont Massey School of Business. Usrey is a graduate of Tennessee Tech with her master's in accounting. Cucuel received her bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her master's of accountancy from Belmont University.
 

HealthSpring to Cover Administration Costs of H1N1 Vaccine

HealthSpring will cover the costs of administering the H1N1 flu vaccination to its members as the vaccine becomes available. The federal government has said it will provide the H1N1 vaccine at no cost to at-risk groups and is asking insurers to cover the administration costs. For questions about HealthSpring benefits or coverage, visit the Web site at www.healthspring.com.  
 

US Radiosurgery Leads on Multiple Stereotactic Fronts

Nashville-based US Radiosurgery, a leader in developing and operating full-body radiosurgical facilities, recently became the first stereotactic radiosurgery services company to use a new vault configuration to install the CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System in an existing gantry LINAC vault. The accomplishment is the latest in a string of pioneering breakthroughs, including the first in the world to install next-generation CyberKnife technology at its facility in Tulsa, Okla., and one of the first commercial installations of adaptive gating software on the Novalis Tx® at its radiosurgery center in San Diego.
 
The new vault configuration for the CyberKnife Center of Chicago allowed the hospital to use existing treatment space and shielding, reducing installation costs. With a smaller footprint than standard vault layouts, the gantry LINAC vault saved the partnership between $500,000 and $1 million.
 

VCH Unveils Bronze "Cat in the Hat" Statue

"The Cat in the Hat" has been a smash hit with children since the Dr. Seuss book was first published in 1957. Now, the beloved character has taken up permanent residency at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. A limited edition, four-foot-tall bronze statue was unveiled in early October on the second floor of the hospital as an enduring tribute and inspiration to the spirit of all children and their families.
 
The jaunty statue is a gift from the family and friends of the late Monroe Carell Jr., the philanthropist and business magnate for whom the hospital is named. The unveiling took place on what would have been Carell's 78th birthday.
 

Heal That Claim Month

The American Medical Association has declared November is "Heal that Claim"™ month and is encouraging physicians to make a special effort to perform a claims process check-up to assess the financial health of their practices, learn ways to streamline internal claims process and find out how to hold payers accountable for making claims processing more cost effective and transparent.
 
Physician practices often experience an increase in underpayments and denials during the last quarter of the year, so November was deemed an ideal time to appeal inappropriately underpaid or denied claims. Instead of accepting increased claims underpayments and denials, physician practices can appeal these claims and collect their appropriate payment in January and February, a time that when payments are historically reduced because patients are starting over on meeting their annual out-of-pocket deductibles. For more information on the program, go to www.ama-assn.org/go/healthatclaim.
 

LearningRx Opens New Cognitive Skills Training Center in Murfreesboro

LearningRx, which specializes in identifying and correcting underlying cognitive skill deficiencies that keep people from achieving their full potential in school, business, or life, has opened a new location at 2615 Medical Center Parkway in Murfreesboro. The center, owned and operated by Deana Wildish and Hazel Matheny, uses a comprehensive skills assessment to first identify deficient areas such as auditory or visual processing, attention, comprehension, memory, and problem solving. A customized, one-on-one program is then developed to address weak areas by focusing on tools to strengthen deficient skills.
 

Gold Skin Care Adds New Treatments to its Arsenal

This fall, Gold Skin Care Center began offering Sculptra®Aesthetic, a cosmetic facial injectable that works gradually, resulting in a more youthful looking appearance that can last up to two years. SculptraAesthetic has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for the correction of shallow to deep nasolabial folds, contour deficiencies and other facial wrinkles. 
 
Wrinkles and folds associated with aging become apparent primarily through the breakdown of collagen. Unlike the popular hyaluronic acid injectables that only temporarily fill wrinkles and folds in the face, SculptraAesthetic, made from poly-L-lactic acid, gradually replaces the lost collagen. Injectable poly-L-lactic acid has been widely used in Europe for close to a decade for cosmetic treatment. Michael H. Gold, MD, founder and medical director of Gold Skin Care Center and Tennessee Clinical Research Center has several years experience injecting SculptraAesthetic, as his practice has served as a training office for the acid's original indication, which is the correction of lipoatrophy.
 
The center is also offering the newest skin resurfacing treatment on the market, Sublative Rejuvenation using the eMatrix device. This new technology uses radiofrequency to deliver heat deep in the dermis layer of the skin to rebuild lost collagen. This method is garnering a lot of national attention for two reasons: 1) It eliminates damage to the outer most layer of the epidermis resulting in less redness, peeling and pain following the treatment; and 2) it works in the deepest layers of the skin, building collagen over time, resulting in the reduction of scars and wrinkles. Among its uses, the treatment has offered dramatic results for patients with acne scarring.
 

Skyline Occupational Health Welcomes New Business Outreach Liaison

Skyline Occupational Health recently welcomed Charlotte Caudill, RN, a certified occupational health nurse-specialist (COHN-S), as their new occupational health outreach liaison. Caudill will assist area employers with their corporate health needs and worker's compensation injury management programs. She has over 14 years experience in the field. 
 

Recent Certifications & Accreditations:

Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital has been awarded certification from the Joint Commission for stroke rehabilitation. The program has earned the Gold Seal of Approval™ for healthcare quality. To earn this distinction, a disease management program undergoes an extensive, unannounced, on-site evaluation by a team of Joint Commission reviewers every two years. The program is evaluated against Joint Commission standards through an assessment of a program's processes, the program's ability to evaluate and improve care within its own organization, and interviews with patients and staff.
 
MedSolutions, a national provider of medical cost management services for radiology, oncology, cardiology, diagnostic accuracy and other areas, has been recognized for the third consecutive year by J.D. Power and Associates' Certified Call Center Program (SM). Of the more than 75,000 call centers in North America, Nashville-based MedSolutions' call center operation is one of a select group to be recognized for "An Outstanding Customer Service Experience."  
 
Paula Duncan, a nurse at Baptist Hospital's Metabolic Surgery Center, has been credentialed as a Certified Bariatric Nurse by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). In addition to passing a rigorous test, certification also includes being a registered nurse, performing 24 months of nursing care for bariatric or weight loss surgery patients, completing a review course and following the ASMBS standard of conduct.
 
Baptist Hospital's Center for Breast Health has been designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology Commission on Quality and Safety and Commission on Breast Imaging. The designation means the center is accredited in mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy, breast ultrasound and ultrasound-guided breast biopsy.
 
The Society of Chest Pain Centers has once again designated Skyline Medical Center as an accredited Chest Pain Center with PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention). Skyline first earned accreditation in 2004.
 
People seeking expert help with their footwear, including diabetics and others with specific foot, ankle, knee and back issues, can feel comfortable turning to Foot Solutions in Franklin & Hermitage as the facilities have been awarded a three-year accreditation in orthotics and pedorthics by the Board of Certification/Accreditation, International.
 
The Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) has added Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC (LBMC) to its prestigious list of professional firms who have earned the HITRUST Common Security Framework (CSF) Certifier status. 
 

Let's Give Them Something to Talk About!

Awards, Honors, Recognitions

On November 5, the Community Foundation is honoring healthcare industry veteran Clayton McWhorter for his visionary leadership and dedication to the well being of Middle Tennesseans. McWhorter served as president and CEO for HCA; founded two healthcare businesses including HealthTrust and LifeTrust; serves as Chairman of the Board for PharmaMD; and founded Clayton Associates to provide venture capital to start-up companies. 
 
In the recently released HealthGrades 2010 "Hospital Quality in America" study, the member hospitals of Saint Thomas Health Services were each recognized for areas of excellence. Saint Thomas Hospital received a 5-star rating for quality in multiple diagnoses and procedures including joint replacement, spine surgery, treatment of stroke, repair of abdominal aorta and others. The hospital also ranked in the top 5 percent in the nation for gastrointestinal and vascular surgery. Baptist Hospital ranked among the top 10 percent in the nation for pulmonary care and tops in Nashville for overall cardiac care. The hospital had five-star ratings for coronary bypass surgery, joint replacement, and treatment of COPD and pneumonia among others. Middle Tennessee Medical Center received five-star ratings for hip fracture repair and the treatment of pancreatitis. Complete results for STHS and other area hospitals is available at www.healthgrades.com.
 
Last month, Stephen A. Dickens, JD, FACMPE, risk management specialist for State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Co. in Brentwood was elected to the Medical Group Management Association Board of Directors.
 
Middle Tennessee Medical Center Vice President of Operations Ryan S. Simpson, FACHE, has become a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the nation's leading professional society for healthcare leaders. Only 7,500 healthcare executives nationwide hold this distinction.
 
Nashville-based Sarah Cannon Research Institute has been awarded a spot on Modern Healthcare's list of the 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare for 2009. SCRI is one of only three Tennessee companies to make the list, which also includes Community Health Systems in Franklin and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis.
 
Nashville-based KraftCPAs PLLC was recently named one of the best accounting firms to work for in 2009. The annual list of "Best Accounting Firms" was created by Accounting Today magazine and Best Companies Group. KraftCPAs is one of only two Tennessee-based firms and the only middle Tennessee firm on the list.
 
Omar Hamada, MD, was asked to give the opening presentation on healthcare reform to the semi-annual Health Sector Advisory Council meeting held at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. The Council is comprised of C-level executives representing major hospital, pharmaceutical, insurance, financial, managed care, and biotech corporations, as well as various governmental and regulatory agencies.
 
Mary Bufwack, CEO of United Neighborhood Health Services, Inc., was presented with The Bank of America Chief Executive Officer of the Year Award by The Center for Nonprofit Management (CNM). The award highlights the importance of executive leadership in an organization's achievement of mission-related results.
 
Middle Tennessee Medical Center President and CEO, Gordon B. Ferguson, FACHE, has been named one of Business TN magazine's 25 Top Hospital Operators in the state.
 
Brian Ward, managing director of Ward Financial Advisory of Wells Fargo Advisors with over $2.8 billion in assets under management was ranked 10th in the Top 100 Wirehouse Advisors in America as printed in Registered Rep Magazine. 
 

MTMC Center for Breast Health Receives Grants

Since its opening in September 2008, the Center for Breast Health at Middle Tennessee Medical Center has received significant grant funding, continuing to improve the quality of breast health services and technology in Rutherford County.
 
Through a $56,000 grant from the Greater Nashville affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Center for Breast Health at MTMC has established the Breast Health Nurse Navigator program to help cancer patients overcome barriers in accessing cancer care and to address the physical, mental and emotional needs of each individual. Carole Williams, RN, who has worked in oncology at MTMC for more than 10 years, has assumed the role of MTMC nurse navigator.
 
The Center for Breast Health has also acquired new technologies through Kroger's Giving Hope a Hand grant program for the purchase of a Needle Loc Chair, which better facilitates needle localization procedures, thereby offering more comfort and safety for the patient and better positioning for the nurse.