Most clinical providers are aware of the more common capacities of EHRs. However, there are many capacities that are being underused that can be of great assistance in providing safe care that avoids waste and identifies best practices. Electronic communication with providers outside of one’s clinical setting, clinical decision support and improving the body of knowledge of best practices are three of ...
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Quick! Can you name the leading cause of accidental death in the United States now? It is prescription drug overdose. Since 2009 death from legally prescribed narcotics has led auto accident deaths as the number one cause of accidental death in the United States. More than 15000 die now annually.
On October 5, 2012 the Wall Street Journal on its front page published ...
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Do you read the comic strip “Dilbert” by Scott Adams? I read it most every day. It tells the story of an engineer named Dilbert and the people with whom he works, including notables such as Wally, Alice and the pointy-haired boss. Mr. Adams daily relates amusing situations of the dysfunctional relations at Dilbert’s work site. While the situations are hilarious at times, they reflect the actual work processes at ...
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“What we have here is a failure to communicate.” A famous quote from the movie Cool Hand Luke. As many know poor communication is common in healthcare.
Consider the following examples.
According to Charles Duhigg in his newly released book, The Power of Habit, Rhode Island Hospital was one of the nation’s leading medical institutions. It was the teaching hospital for Brown University and the only Level I trauma center in southeastern ...
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Obesity is becoming a major health issue in the United States across all age groups. It is well known that obesity is a major contributor in the occurrence of type 2 diabetes and heart conditions. Although physicians and other clinicians are often called upon to become the primary players in the prevention and treatment of chronic conditions, it is not possible for them to do so alone when it comes ...
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Recently I was asked, “How can I improve my Press Ganey scores?” Presently this question applies mostly to hospitals as CMS is requiring hospitals to use the HCAHPS as a part of their quality reporting. Press Ganey can manage the HCAHPS for hospitals. Few physicians or physician groups presently survey patients for satisfaction; they should begin thinking about doing so in the near future as it seems likely that CMS ...
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Based upon the past and the current state of affairs in healthcare, healthcare reimbursement will change dramatically in the future. I believe that reimbursement based upon fee-for-service will gradually disappear and be replaced by models based upon the ability to better manage patient diseases and conditions. That is, reimbursement will be based upon the quality of service delivered by the provider. For insurers, whether private or governmental, I believe that ...
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My primary care physician, the last time I was in for a checkup, had not adopted ePrescribing or started using an electronic health record (EHR). My understanding is that the medical group to which he belongs had not rolled out these capabilities to him yet but was planning to do so. Hopefully, this summer when I see him again he will be plugged into the electronic health record that the ...
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W. Edwards Deming is recognized as one of the driving forces that led the Japanese in the 1950’s to become a world-class manufacturing nation. The Japanese through the implementation of his principals became leaders in the manufacture of automobiles and electronics. One of his cardinal principles was that a company must delight its customers. It is not enough for a company that wishes to excel to meet the needs and ...
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CNN recently posted an article titled "Doctors Going Broke." It described several cases of independent physicians who are near bankruptcy although they once were quite well off. For instance, the article detailed the case of Dr. William Pentz, a cardiologist in a small group practice, who had to borrow money last month to make payroll. He and the other cardiologists have cut their salaries in order to meet overhead. Dr. ...
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-Eric Topol, MD, author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine
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