Memorial Hermann Health System’s Post

New guidance for integrated care boards responsible for the commissioning and oversight of cardiovascular rehabilitation services in England. It sets out the patient cohorts that should be prioritised in cardiovascular rehabilitation services when capacity is significantly below demand, and the key areas that need to be considered when commissioning or delivering services to maximise patient outcomes NHS England https://lnkd.in/eS5pkWi8

🎉 Celebrating a groundbreaking study on stroke care accessibility! 👏 I'm thrilled to congratulate my colleagues at Newcastle University, on their recent EMJ publication highlighting the critical need for improved access to thrombectomy treatment for stroke patients across the UK. 🔬 Their research, based on data from nearly 300,000 patients, reveals a staggering disparity in treatment rates based on geographical location. Patients living further away from specialised regional hospitals are 2-3 times less likely to receive life-saving treatment with mechanical thrombectomy, leading to dramatic lower chances of recovery. 🚑 This is a major issue affecting 70-75% of stroke patients nationwide. To address this, we must explore innovative solutions like refining ambulance protocols and optimising referral pathways. Upfront Diagnostics' LVOne test, designed specifically for ambulance clinicians, offers a highly accurate way to identify stroke patients who require immediate thrombectomy. 🚀 We want to offer every patient in the country equal opportunities to be treated and go back to their normal life." #StrokeAwareness #HealthcareEquity #EmergencyMedicine #Thrombectomy #LVOneTest #UpfrontDiagnostics #NoLVOleftBehind #InVitroDiagnostics https://lnkd.in/d53qJxCj

🌟 Returning to Initial Hospitals Boosts Stroke Recovery Outcomes! 🌟 A groundbreaking nationwide study reveals that patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke experience enhanced recovery rates when readmitted to their original hospitals within three months post-procedure. 🔍 Key Insights: - 63.7% of patients returned to their index hospitals. - Readmission to original facilities led to shorter hospital stays and lower costs. - Patients were more likely to be discharged home when returning for follow-up care. This research underscores the critical importance of continuity of care in optimizing patient outcomes and reducing healthcare expenditures. Healthcare providers and policymakers are encouraged to consider these findings in order to improve post-thrombectomy care strategies. 💡 Let's work together towards better stroke recovery outcomes! Read more about the study's implications and how we can enhance patient follow-up protocols by clicking the link! #ClinicalResearches #ContinuityOfCare #HealthcareInnovation #PatientCare #Publications #RegulatoryAgencies #StrokeRecovery #Thrombectomy #MarketAccess #MarketAccessToday

We were in the beginning of a pandemic. Hospital staff was leaving, beds were being filled with Covid patients. The strain on the system was palpable. As a stroke team, we were committed to safely changing the way we provided care. Many patients were being transferred to the hub for stroke/TIA workup due to lack of neurology in community hospitals. Our team came together and deployed a safe yet effective tele stroke rounding service accomplishing the following: -Decreased transfers to the hub -Access to stroke trained neurologists close to home -Decreased strain on our transport network by avoiding unnecessary transfers -Allowed small community hospitals to keep high DRG patients (stroke/TIA) -Increased bed availability at the hub for complex cerebrovascular patients We are so proud of this work- decreasing the number of patients transferred to the hub from 35% to 23% and increasing community hospital retention of stroke and TIA patients from 62.7% to 74.86%. Our advanced practice providers came up with protocols and educated community hospitals on the proper care for these patients. Because every patient deserves world class care close to home. This is ProMedica Stroke. #strokecare #stroke #telemedicine https://lnkd.in/gckVJpKf

The release of the 2024 Darzi review made difficult reading for those that care passionately both about healthcare provision in England and the overarching principles of the NHS. Darzi identifies the key challenges patients are facing, particularly long waiting times for essential services like surgery, A&E, mental health, and cancer treatment. The report highlights that inefficiencies in hospital care and underinvestment in infrastructure are significant barriers to improving patient outcomes. With about 7.6 million people on waiting lists and delays in cancer care, patient experience has been severely impacted. Social care’s challenges have compounded these issues, as hospital beds are often occupied by patients awaiting support outside hospitals. This strains the system, negatively affecting staff morale and productivity. For NPC, the report offers future optimism and opportunity. Specifically to work with and on behalf of Practices in our Alliance to influence or hopefully lead some of the changes required, specially with the report emphasising the need to shift care from hospitals to communities and primary care aligning it closely with NPC's mission. Overall these opportunities highlight the need for a long-awaited shift towards prevention and care closer to home, potentially offering an invigorated and transforming role for Primary Care as a whole over the next decade. James Leeming Richard Parker Wayne Bolt Simon George Emma Smith Rachel Arkieson

10 years ago, I had the honor of being a part of a small team charged with reimagining how a community hospital could be resurrected to serve the South LA population long known to be under-served and under-resourced with respect to its healthcare needs Since then, much progress has been made. And in many ways due to its success, much is still left undone. Primary care access, while underfunded and inaccessible in many communities like South LA, specialty care is equally unpredictable, inaccessible and under-resourced- if not moreso. What results? As a urologist who staffs two of the busiest hospital EDs in the country, we routinely see patients whose presentation is merely to "see a specialist." 60% of patients referred to a specialist never see one! The implications: we have grown so untrustworthy as a healthcare system when servicing medicaid populations that patients and clinicians alike resign to leveraging the ED for routine primary and almost all of their specialty care needs. This has to change. The elderly man with newly diagnosed prostate cancer, the recently discharged young women with a painful, untreated kidney stone, or construction worker who required an emergent bladder repair of a complication of surgery all of who could not "find a urologist" or whose primary care doctor resorts to "sending them to the ED" for tests they struggle to obtain through the patient's medicaid plan are clearly not being served well by our current system. Hence is why we started over 5 years ago HubMD (hubmd.org) and Afya (afyaglobal.com) to begin creating a better way- a responsive and intentional approach to caring for the least among us through ambulatory triage with eConsults, expanding access with virtual visits and coordinating patients care through transitions be it from clinic, hospital, ED, urgent care, psychiatric or correctional facility. We now conduct >6,000 eConsults per month and coordinate care for a growing number of patients specialty care needs. 10 years from now, I hope to not have the type of ED consults I see today. It will take persistent, collective, and strategic effort to create the change we need.

OhioHealth has recently integrated Hinckley Medical’s OneWeight gurney scale into its Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit (MSTU), improving stroke care by ensuring precise weight-based dosing of critical medications like tenecteplase (TNK). In stroke cases, accuracy is crucial—dosages of thrombolytics must be calculated based on patient weight to optimize outcomes, and the OneWeight scale streamlines this process, helping save time during the critical "golden hour." Dr. William (B.J.) Hicks II, MD, Vice President of Neurosciences at OhioHealth, highlights the importance of precision in the acute phase of stroke care. “By integrating OneWeight into our MSTU, we can streamline patient assessments and help ensure that the correct dosage of TNK is administered.” This partnership emphasizes OhioHealth and Hinckley Medical’s commitments to patient safety and innovation, helping EMS providers deliver life-saving care quickly and accurately. #StrokeCare #EMS #HealthcareInnovation #OneWeight #OhioHealth #PatientSafety

Super interesting development in the HSJ today. NHS England's clinical lead for emergency medicine Chris Moulton has called for primary care to shift to being salaried. Let me explain why this is interesting, and then why I agree. A few years ago, I heard rumblings from a notable leader that this was being discussed and proposed internally, but not publicly. Clearly the political masters in their true blue ties were not supportive or confident enough to put that into the open domain. However, with the new political master in a red tie having already signalled that he's interested in reforming the GP contract, perhaps it feels more politically safe to advocate for it. Or potentially to start teasing it. Especially since it was aired at the NHS Providers conference. Remember that NHS England is laser focused on controlling the narrative from leaders, and whilst he may be speaking outside of that, it's unlikely given the platform. Now, why do I think this is a good idea (expecting grenades back). The Carr Hill model + QoF model (or what's left of it) + DES model = crap: 1. it disincentivises innovation, and forces prioritisation based on business objectives, which we need to move away from (silo mentality). 2. it forces doctors to prioritise things that aren't care. 3. as we've seen it means that national approaches or budget initiatives screw them over or create mess. 4. it becomes separately lobbied and is too much down to an annual power game which inhibits change. 5. It puts too much pressure on GP partners to get by, or it can occasionally lead to unreasonable role inequality where partner pay is higher than is reasonable. 6. Which forces GPs to have to consider profit vs care objectives. 7. It can lead to General Practice issues not being shared by local systems. All of the above is compounded by the fact that in the pandemic and post pandemic maelstrom PCNs haven't really been fully baked and feel like a constant compromised bolt on between two ideological model. Now expecting some kick back, but I think it's good to see this particular wind shifting and hope that we'll finally see a better discussion about an ideal general practice model. https://lnkd.in/eJ9Mi9gG

Liam Cahill The idea of moving to salaried GPs has been floated for some years and it is an interesting debate. An ideal healthcare system will incentivise all working in it to collaborate to deliver appropriate and high quality care at a low cost. The current system of remunerating GPs has some misaligned incentives - eg QoF was poorly designed. However, GPs are generally run as efficient small businesses which treat patients as customers, albeit it is getting much harder to see one. Many GPs are already paid salaries within partner owned practices, but I am sceptical that moving all GPs to a salary will improve the alignment of incentives and ultimately lead to a better system. Doctors in secondary care appear to be mainly salaried, but many earn most of their income from undertaking additional work through agencies, insourcing companies, backlog reporting companies, and or treating NHS and private patients in private hospitals - their productivity during their salaried hours is very low compared to international benchmarks (partly due to poor processes that they work with)

A story on Conifer's Personal Health Nurses making a difference with transition of care and medication reconciliation. According to World Health Organization data, medication errors cause at least one death every day in the U.S. Please see the quick read below. Contact me if you'd like to learn more about our medical management services including Case Management, Utilization Management, and our Personal Health Management services.