Non-Emergency Medical Transportation: Will Reshaping Medicaid Sacrifice An Important Benefit?
Medicaid delivers care to 74.5 million individuals for less money than any other large-scale health financing mechanism. A 2016 Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation study noted that “spending per enrollee is lower for Medicaid compared to private insurance after controlling for differences in sociodemographic and health characteristics between the two groups.” One reason might be that Medicaid covers certain inexpensive, non-medical services that, when delivered early in the progression of chronic diseases, can check or slow the diseases, thereby improving beneficiaries’ health and saving money. One non-medical service&...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - September 20, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: Mike Adelberg and Marsha Simon Tags: Medicaid and CHIP Population Health Quality non-emergency medical transportation Section 1115 waiver Source Type: blogs
The Cost of Public Reporting
ANISH KOKA MD
In an age where big data is king and doctors are urged to treat populations, the journey of one man still has much to tell us. This is a tale of a man named Joe.
Joseph Carrigan was a bear of a man – though his wife would say he was more teddy than bear. He loved guitar playing, and camp horror movies. Those who knew him well said he had a kind heart, a quick wit and loved cats.
I knew none of these things when I met Joe in the Emergency Department on a Sunday afternoon. I had been called because of an abnormal electrocardiogram – the ER team was worried he could be having a heart attack. ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - September 18, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: anish_koka Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
The High Cost of Public Reporting
ANISH KOKA MD
In an age where big data is king and doctors are urged to treat populations, the journey of one man still has much to tell us. This is a tale of a man named Joe.
Joseph Carrigan was a bear of a man – though his wife would say he was more teddy than bear. He loved guitar playing, and camp horror movies. Those who knew him well said he had a kind heart, a quick wit and loved cats.
I knew none of these things when I met Joe in the Emergency Department on a Sunday afternoon. I had been called because of an abnormal electrocardiogram – the ER team was worried he could be having a heart attack. ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - September 18, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: anish_koka Tags: Uncategorized Cardiac surgery High-risk Quality Reporting Source Type: blogs
Hold the Mayo and Save Our Hospital
By NIRAN AL-AGBA, MD
There is a grassroots movement, 4300 strong, known as “Save Our Hospital” gaining notoriety in Albert Lea, Minnesota. This story is symptomatic of the fact that hospital consolidation has slowly become a national pastime. With declining revenue under the Affordable Care Act, mergers increased by 70%, leaving small communities scrambling for healthcare access. The latest casualty in the ‘hospital-consolidation-for-sport’ trend is Albert Lea, a small city located in Freeborn County, Minnesota.
Known affectionately as the ‘Land between the Lakes,’ it has a population of 18,000 spread o...
Source: The Health Care Blog - September 5, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: OP-ED Albert Lea hospital consolidation Mayo Clinic Minnesota Niran Al-Agba Source Type: blogs
Anticipating Harvey's Toll on Health and Health Care
After Hurricane Harvey, challenges to the health of affected communities and the health care systems that serve them are expected to grow. Among the problems are closures of hospitals, pharmacies, and dialysis centers. Lessons from Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy could help relief efforts. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - September 5, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: Mahshid Abir; Richard Serino Source Type: blogs
Stories to help parents think critically about the importance of vaccinations
I was rotating through an infectious disease elective at an outside hospital during my fourth year of medical school when I encountered a startling situation. We were called to evaluate a patient who was suffering from an infection called Haemophilus influenzae. Now, I knew that most children were vaccinated against this pathogen, so I was surprised by the consult.
I was working on a team with three others: one attending, one fellow, and another medical student. We donned our gowns and our gloves, and we entered the intensive care unit. The sight before me is one that I will never forget. The child was connected to various...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 2, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/cherilyn-cecchini" rel="tag" > Cherilyn Cecchini, MD < /a > Tags: Conditions Hospital-Based Medicine Infectious Disease Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
FDA Grants First Clearance for Patients to Perform Hemodialysis on Themselves at Home
NxStage Medical, a company based in Lawrence, MA that focuses on hemodialysis equipment, won FDA clearance for its System One to be used by the patients at home and by themselves. This is the first such clearance that gives people with end stage renal disease a new level of independence from clinics and at-home carers. While the system can also be used to dialyze blood while the patient is sleeping, doing so without assistance requires the patient to undergo dialysis while awake.
This new regulatory green light will allow considerably more patients to be eligible for at-home dialysis, something that they’ve been rest...
Source: Medgadget - August 30, 2017 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Medicine Source Type: blogs
Jewish Guide to Practical Medical Decision Making
Check out
this new 368-page
book from Rabbi Jason Weiner: Jewish Guide to Practical
Medical Decision Making.
Due to rapid advances in the medical field, existing books on Jewish medical
ethics are quickly becoming outdated. Jewish
Guide to Practical Medical Decision Making seeks to remedy that by
presenting the most contemporary medical information and rabbinic rulings in an
accessible, user-friendly manner.
Rabbi Weiner addresses a broad range of medical circumstances such as surrogacy
and egg donation, assisted suicide, and end-of-life decision making. Based on
his extensive training an...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - August 29, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Thaddeus Mason Pope, JD, PhD Tags: Health Care syndicated Source Type: blogs
Sinus rhythm with a new wide complex QRS
This is another case written by Pendell Meyers, a G2 at Stony Brook. As I mentioned before, Pendell will be helping to edit and write the blog.CaseA middle aged female with type 2 diabetes presented to her endocrinologist for a regularly scheduled follow up appointment for diabetes management. Her history included ischemic cardiomyopathy (CM) with placement of an AICD, CAD s/p CABG, and recent elective LAD stent complicated by ischemic colitis requiring hemicolectomy and colostomy.During the appointment she complained of several days of off and on dizziness and bilateral leg weakness, and she also told the endocrinolo...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - August 28, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Pendell Source Type: blogs
Diabetes - a death sentence
The last time I posted, we had just been to the nephrologist. I wrote this:Gave him 3-5 years before he will need dialysis. That's interesting because only 2 years ago he was told that he needed dialysis then. I think this just confirms to me that labs really can't forecast what you do and don't need as they can quickly change for the good or the bad.Could I have been in any more denial? I think it finally hit both of us that that's exactly what we did - we made up excuses to "prove" the doctor was wrong.So what if he only has 3 - 5 more years before dialysis? And what if he still doesn't want dial...
Source: Wife of a Diabetic - August 19, 2017 Category: Endocrinology Source Type: blogs
Incentive-Based Systems to Improve Patient Compliance: Interview with Matt Loper, CEO of Wellth
Wellth, a digital health company based in New York, has developed a system that provides patients with daily financial incentives to improve their compliance with drug regimens. Low patient compliance results in significant issues in terms of patient health and increased financial costs. The company is particularly interested in targeting type 2 diabetes, congestive heart failure, post heart attack recovery, COPD, and asthma.
The Wellth system is geared towards high-risk, high-cost patients, and works by providing patients with daily incentives and reminders to take their medication. The patient sends a photo of their medi...
Source: Medgadget - August 14, 2017 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Exclusive Geriatrics Medicine Public Health Source Type: blogs
Laminate Medical ’s VasQ Fistula Supporting Device Gets FDA Investigational Device Exemption
Laminate Medical Technologies, an Israeli firm, won an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) from the FDA to begin a clinical trial of its VasQ device designed to support arteriovenous fistulas. The technology will hopefully benefit patients that receive hemodialysis via AVF in the upper extremity.
In many dialysis patients the fistulas that are created too often have trouble staying in shape and may require revision procedures. Additionally, the connection may narrow, leading to complications, and blood turbulence near the connection can lead to clots or cell lysis.
The VasQ device, made of Nitinol memory alloy, support...
Source: Medgadget - August 3, 2017 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Vascular Surgery Source Type: blogs
End-of-Life Healthcare Sessions at ASBH 2017
Conclusion: Patients with LEP had significant differences and disparities in
end-of-life decision-making. Interventions to facilitate informed
decision-making for those with LEP is a crucial component of care for this
group.
THU 1:30 pm: “But She’ll Die if You Don’t!”: Understanding and
Communicating Risks at the End of Life (Janet Malek)
Clinicians sometimes decline to offer interventions even if their refusal will
result in an earlier death for their patients. For example, a nephrologist may
decide against initiating hemodialysis despite a patient’s rising creatinine
levels if dea...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - July 26, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Thaddeus Mason Pope, JD, PhD Tags: Health Care syndicated Source Type: blogs
The Nephrologist
Yesterday we drove 3 hours to visit a nephrologist. Kidney specialist. I liked the doctor. He spent 2 hours with us. I don't know that the hubby will do anything he was told to do, but he will now get labs done every quarter. That's great.The doc changed some of the meds, added some new ones. Gave him some anti-nausea meds. Said that he probably has gastroparesis (which I thought might be the case) and that's what's causing him to vomit so much.His GFR has improved from zero in 2011 to 44 which is incredible. Is is the marijuana? I've read that it helps treat kidney disease and ...
Source: Wife of a Diabetic - July 25, 2017 Category: Endocrinology Source Type: blogs
Can You Return to Nursing After a Hiatus?
Many nurses come to me for advice and career coaching when they ' re ready to return to the nursing workforce after a hiatus. For some, it ' s just been a year or two, and for others, it might have been 15 years of staying home to do the noble work of raising children. The question is, how do you break back in to nursing after being gone so long? It ' s possible, and there ' s a lot to do to get there.Acknowledge the LiabilityThe first thing you need to do when returning to the workforce after a hiatus is to acknowledge to yourself that your absence is a liability. A nurse who hasn ' t worked in two, four, ten, or fourteen...
Source: Digital Doorway - July 25, 2017 Category: Nursing Tags: career career development career management careers healthcare careers nurse nurse careers nurses nursing nursing careers Source Type: blogs
