CurePSP’s Post

#Healthcare administrative bloat and inefficiency are rampant. While I have respect for many aspects of the VA healthcare system, I had not considered administrative efficiency to be one of them. This piece has me questioning my likely false assumptions and creates a different perspective. It represents a system that has the patient (a veteran) at the center of a team-based primary care network with a more holistic lens. VA hospitals outperform non-VA hospitals on 10 core patient satisfaction metrics in a recent Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Star Ratings. In the private sector health care system, we often only addresses the patient’s chief complaint, focusing on the current illness or acute issue. Ensuring a patient’s well-being requires the integration of the physical, psychological, social, and economic aspects of health and a thorough understanding of how these factors impact treatment compliance which the VA does much better than the rest of US healthcare. For you pediatricians, internists, and family medicine docs/clinics out there-- Can we learn from the VA? #UsingWhatWeHaveBetter

In the last few days, a lot of people have asked me "How do I get involved?" Advocacy is a large arena and even getting started in affecting change can be daunting. I highly recommend checking out the #SCAI article published last year in #JSCAI as a primer. While it's directed towards interventional cardiologists, much of it is directly applicable the entire House of Medicine. Others have asked me, "why are you doing this?" To them I say, it's not just me. We all need to take up the mantle to affect change. There is a popular saying (the origin of which is in question) that goes "If you're not at the table, you're probably on the menu." Please get involved, donate to your society's PAC, whether it's #SCAIPAC, #HeartPAC, #SCCT, #PAMPAC (in Pennsylvania). They are your voice at the table. Without them, I guarantee we'll never get off the menu. #AdvocacyMatters https://lnkd.in/eG3Ru5Ev

💙 Thank you to the Caring Foundation of Texas and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas for organizing an exceptional event this past Sunday. All proceeds from the event were directed towards funding life-saving preventive healthcare initiatives provided by CFT. I would also like to express my gratitude to my BCBSTX colleague and friend, Miss Lorrie Lacko, for inviting me to be a part of this meaningful occasion and for facilitating my involvement with this remarkable foundation. Numerous families throughout Texas encounter obstacles in accessing the preventive healthcare they require. These challenges often include financial constraints, transportation issues, and lack of time. Women and children are disproportionately affected by these barriers. The Caring Foundation of Texas addresses these challenges by collaborating with organizations, educational institutions, non-profits, and government entities to bring medical services directly into communities where they are needed most. This initiative enables many adults and children to obtain essential preventive care necessary for leading healthy, fulfilling lives. Preventive healthcare is vital for laying a strong health foundation for our children's futures. CFT passionately advocates for community service and strives to provide preventive healthcare resources across our regions. If you wish to support CFT’s efforts, please contact their headquarters in Richardson at: 🧡 Caring Foundation of Texas 💚 1001 E. Lookout Drive Richardson, TX 75082 (866) 806-SHOTS (7468) https://lnkd.in/gwdjF-7Q All services offered by the Texas Care Van program are free for those who qualify. Since its inception in 1997, over 1.4 million immunizations have been administered to more than 2.5 million individuals, along with over 450,000 dental services provided to children since 2008. 💙 #healthcare #texas

As part of our commitment to expand access to quality health care, Helmsley has granted $11.6 million to three health systems in Nevada, bringing life-saving #ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) technology for patients in rural communities suffering from acute cardiac and pulmonary failure. The availability of ECMO provides timely medical support to those experiencing severe respiratory and cardiovascular distress who face additional challenges around physician shortages, lack of equipment, and geographic barriers to emergency treatment. The grants will go to Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican Siena Hospital, Renown Health Foundation, and University Medical Center of Southern Nevada (UMC), funding physician and staff travel to active extracorporeal life support centers, training equipment, consultation services, and other tools for program expansion across the state. “ECMO can be a game changer for patients with severe heart and lung conditions,” said Walter Panzirer, a Helmsley Trustee. “Without ECMO, hospitals have to transfer patients to other facilities, and those who are too unstable for transport could die before receiving needed care.” Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dSBcE5Eb

After being bought by private equity firms, hospitals safety performance falls off with significant increases in inpatient falls and infections, according to new research published in JAMA. https://lnkd.in/gmDYXnmg Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the University of Chicago arrived at the conclusion after comparing a decade’s worth of Medicare Part A claims data between 51 equity-acquired hospitals and 259 matched controls.[1] The latter were hospitals not owned by private equity. The equity cohort comprised 662,000 hospitalizations; the control cohort, 4.2 million similar cases. For the equity cohort, the team also assessed hospitalizations from three years before to three years after ownership changed hands. Senior study author Zirui Song, MD, PhD, and colleagues found private equity acquisition correlated with a 25% increase in hospital-acquired adverse events through up to three years after acquisition. The adverse events included a 27% increase in falls and a 38% increase in the volume of central line-associated infections. What’s more, the spike in central line infections occurred even though central-line placements fell by 16% in the post-acquisition equity cohort. The researchers also uncovered a doubling of surgical site infections in post-acquisition private equity hospitals. By comparison, surgical site infections fell at the control hospitals. Song et al. surmise the troubling safety performance at hospitals owned by private equity largely trace to staffing shortfalls. In coverage of the research by HMS’s news operation, lead author Sneha Kannan, MD, says the findings are discomfiting because they “may reflect bottom-line incentives overshadowing patient care and safety” at hospitals owned by private equity firms. Hospital success, Kannan adds, is measured “not only in dollars or the number of patients who pass through the doors but also in lives saved, complication rates, patient satisfaction and a number of other quality and safety metrics. We need to make sure we fully understand the costs and benefits of this prominent new force in healthcare.” #healthcare #hospitals #safety #patientexperience #patientsafety #patientcare #privateequity

*Blair Findlay, HCCI Development Associate, rode along with Dr. Paul Chiang, HCCI’s Senior Medical and Practice Advisor, for a day of house calls. Findlay shares her experiences and insights from that day. At HCCI, we believe that the future of healthcare is in the home. What do you see when you picture “home”? The four patients I saw with Dr. Chiang have very different homes—Betty and Gary lived alone, Quang lived in a multi-generational home, Fazli and Ilma lived in an apartment, and Elsa lived in a nursing home that cost upwards of $6,000 a month. These patients had different racial and economic backgrounds, but by having access to house calls, they had equality in the quality of medical care they received. House calls are for everyone. Quality medical care isn’t limited to one’s location or socioeconomic background. When providers come to HCCI to learn how to offer home-based primary care, they learn how to connect and show care for these homebound and home-limited patients. Your support of HCCI increases access for the 5.9 million homebound and home-limited individuals who need home-based primary care but can’t access them. How can you help? • Increase access to home-based primary care by donating to HCCI: https://ow.ly/zC6U50SWpxV • Spread awareness of the value of house calls by sharing these resources: https://ow.ly/MhNQ50SWpxU • Refer healthcare providers and practices to HCCI: https://ow.ly/Rj4E50SWpxT #housecalls #healthcare #homecare #homebasedprimarycare

The healthcare landscape in the United States is facing a critical challenge: an increasing demand for doctors. As the population ages and chronic diseases become more prevalent, the need for medical professionals continues to rise. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the U.S. could see a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2034, spanning both primary and specialty care. In response to this pressing need, significant investments in medical education and healthcare infrastructure are essential. Recent notable contributions by Dr. Ruth Gottesman historic $1 billion donations to Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and and Michael Bloomberg’s to Johns Hopkins University. These are largest ever donations to any educational institution in the United States. The path forward requires a collective effort, combining public and private funding, policy changes, and a commitment to addressing healthcare disparities. Well done Mike Bloomberg! 👏🏻 #Healthcare #MedicalEducation #DoctorShortage #BloombergPhilanthropy #JohnsHopkins #FutureOfHealthcare

#DysautonomiaAdvocacyDay - March 12th The focus of Dysautonomia Advocacy Day 2024 will be raising awareness about #autonomic disorders, and advocating for a $10M federal investment in physician education on autonomic disorders. #dysautonomia #dei #inclusion #awareness #noisefortorquoise

MercyOne is closing its gynecologic oncology surgical services this summer, forcing patients to seek alternatives. Starting June 1, The Iowa Clinic becomes the only nearby provider, with the next option in Iowa City. This situation stems from restrictive laws that hinder medical operations and deter healthcare professionals from practicing in Iowa. The Iowa Clinic is already facing an influx of patients and challenges in hiring new specialists. The consequences are severe: decreased access to specialized care, longer patient wait times, and increased travel for treatment. These aren't just bureaucratic issues—they're barriers to essential healthcare. 📢 Call to Action: We must push for policy changes that support healthcare systems and allow doctors to work freely. Join us in advocating for reforms that ensure everyone in Iowa has timely access to the medical care they need. https://lnkd.in/g4nk3rek #IA4HL #Iowans4HealthLiberty #HealthcareFreedom #ReproductiveRights #abortionishealthcare #abortionrights #WomensRights #Donate #JoinUs

Tune into my conversation with Wendy Goldberg, founder of the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation, as we discuss the healing arts in medicine and how we are advancing social prescribing initiatives in Hampton Roads to increase accessibility of the healing arts to children, caregivers, and communities. Check it out below 👇 #healingarts #interview #artsinmedicine #socialprescribing