Tag: shady-grove-adventist
What is observation care? Clearing up common misperceptions
To treat observation care as simply a loophole that allows hospitals to avoid the Medicare penalties from readmissions — as Brad Wright, an assistant professor of health management and policy at the University of Iowa did earlier this month on KevinMD.com — is to take a short-sighted approach to a complex health issue. Observation care in […]
Read ArticleDon’t Give Up on Information Technology in Healthcare
Right now, the technology exists to completely transform healthcare. A doctor should be able to walk into the room where a patient is waiting for them and get everything they need to make an informed decision about that patient’s care. Location-based technology should sense the doctor approaching and already know which patient is waiting for […]
Read ArticleObservation Medicine Belongs to Emergency Medicine
I started my first observation unit over 15 years ago, and even now, as then, it is not exactly settled opinion that observation should be a part of emergency medicine. But it should be. That is one of this company’s central insights about observation medicine, and a big part of what interested me in joining as […]
Read ArticleHealthcare Pressures Will Remain No Matter Who Wins Tomorrow – And Go Vote!
There are some who will tell you that the fate of America’s entire healthcare system hangs in the balance based on the outcome of tomorrow’s presidential election. To be sure, there are big differences between President Obama and Governor Romney. But the truth is that the pressures facing America’s healthcare system today are the same pressures […]
Read ArticleFungal Meningitis: The New Iatrogenic
As natural disasters go, Hurricane Sandy was about as bad as it gets. But even as we come to expect that hurricanes will continue to arrive with greater frequency and ferocity, it is worth a pause to consider another disaster – this one wholly new, wholly unexpected, and wholly man-made. I am speaking of the […]
Read ArticleIn the Best Emergency Departments, Teams Save Lives – Not Individuals
My emergency physicians group takes teamwork very seriously, and not just amongst providers, but between all members of the healthcare team. That’s because we know well just how big a difference it makes in patient care. Be it the pre-hospital medic team, nursing, techs, scribes, or patient care managers, we recognize that medicine is a team […]
Read ArticleObservation Medicine Coming to Shady Grove Adventist
This Fall, we will help our partner Shady Grove Adventist Hospital launch an Observation Medicine Unit aimed at reducing one day admissions and re-admissions. Over $15 billion a year is spent each year on these types of hospital admissions. A majority of this money is spent on Medicare patients, and according to a Medicare Payment Advisory Commission […]
Read ArticlePatients to the Healthcare System: “Change is for the Other Guy, Not Me”
I wrote a while back about the need for a social contract in healthcare. The essence of that contract is that I have a right to receive timely, quality and appropriate care. In return for that care, I need to take responsibility for my health and lifestyle as well as appropriately use healthcare resources. I […]
Read ArticleIt’s Mandatory Flu Shot Season Again!
It’s flu season again, which means it’s flu shot season again. As it has last year, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital mandated that all employees get vaccinated, and while most people are compliant, the policy generates a lot of talk. The usual stuff: “I don’t think it really works,” and “I always get sicker from the […]
Read ArticleDeath at UMass Memorial: Is the Problem “Alarm Fatigue,” or Something Bigger?
Last week, the Boston Globe reported on the second death in four years at UMass Memorial Medical Center related to “alarm fatigue.” Anyone who works in a hospital, particularly an area like an emergency department where critical patients are seen, can understand how a tragedy like this happens. Monitor alarms go off all the time. The […]
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