Business of Medicine Articles & News

Personal Health Record Use in EDs: Willing, But Able?

May 13, 2013

Survey data suggest that the ED is a potential focal point for increased implementation of personal health records.

Planning for a Resource Shortfall

May 1, 2013

A framework of ethical and operational principles may help emergency physicians adjust to the demands and limited resources that they face during disasters.

Strategies for Reducing Hospital Readmissions

April 1, 2013

The costs associated with hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge are high. CMS and other payers are now measuring readmission rates and penalizing hospitals financially for poor performance. As a result, reducing readmissions has become a high priority in hospitals throughout the United States.…

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A Quality Improvement Strategy to Reduce Infection Rates

October 24, 2011

An estimated 80,000 patients each year experience catheter-related bloodstream infections during treatment in hospitals. The Keystone ICU Project utilizes a checklist for healthcare providers to follow when placing catheters to reduce the occurence of these infections.

A Look at Burnout Among Head & Neck Surgeons

August 16, 2011

Burnout among surgeons continues to be problematic for the medical community. In addition to the psychological unpleasantness that is associated with burnout, the phenomenon can lead to more severe problems, including professional and personal dysfunction. In severe cases, the results can negatively impact patient care and potentially put patients at risk for harm.…

Enhancing Patient Safety in Surgery

July 9, 2011

The “Universal Protocol” was designed to increase patient safety in the operating room (OR) by ensuring that the correct patient receives the correct procedure at the correct surgical site. The protocol involves a pre-procedural verification process, surgical site marking, and a preoperative “time-out” immediately prior to starting the procedure.…

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Cleveland Clinic: “If We Could See Inside Others’ Hearts”

May 23, 2013

A profound look at life in a 4-minute video. The camera shows the inner lives of people in a hospital as they go about their daily lives. Produced by the Cleveland Clinic, we get a peek as to what their story entails—worry, sadness, joy, bad news, good news, anxiety, and fear.…

Is the Impending Physician Shortage Real?

May 20, 2013

With expanding roles and outsourcing, maybe the projected shortage is really a mirage. Radiology and anesthesiology are on the chopping block. Is surgery next?

PCPs Make More Money for Hospitals than Specialists

May 15, 2013

For the first time, primary care physicians (PCPs)–family physicians, general internists, and pediatricians—surpassed specialists in hospital revenue generated, according to a new survey by Merritt Hawkins. This may give PCPs a strong argument to be compensated more by hospitals.

Over the past decade, PCP’s generated revenues jumped 23%, whereas specialists’ declined 10%.…

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NEWS BRIEFS

Time Spent on Unresolved Malpractice Claims

April 24, 2013

The average physician in the United States spends nearly 11% of a 40-year career with an unresolved, open malpractice claim, according to a study from American researchers. The authors recommend that malpractice reform efforts be assessed based on the ability to reduce time of malpractice litigation without undermining the affected patient needs.…

High Costs With Critical Care Telemedicine Programs

March 7, 2013

Telemedicine programs in ICUs (tele-ICU) appear to have substantial costs, but associated profits are unclear, according to American investigators. A systematic review found that the combined costs of implementing tele-ICUs and the first year of operations ranged from $50,000 to $100,000 per monitored ICU-bed.…