In a period of rapid change, physician practices react differently to the resulting uncertainty. Hospitals seek to employ or otherwise “align” primary care physicians. They seek to control specialty referrals through employment models, accountable care organizations and other hospital-centric networks. And particularly for anesthesiologists, competitive pressure is mounting from large regional and national groups. Many […]
Read MorePreoperative medication compliance improved when patients were given a simple, standardized, multicolored medication instruction sheet combined with verbal instructions, according to an article published in the July issue of Anesthesiology. Failure to remember and comply with instructions can result in rescheduled same-day surgeries and longer hospital stays. Patients in the study were scheduled for general […]
Read MoreRates of infection secondary to CABG surgery varied widely across a 33-hospital consortium engaged in an adult cardiac-surgery quality initiative in Michigan[1]. The variation was less pronounced but still substantial after adjustment for comorbidities and other patient-related factors. Isolated pneumonia was overwhelmingly the most common CABG-related infection, seen in about 3% of the total population […]
Read MoreI thought this was interesting so I wanted to share it with our readers. A prior caesarean section is associated with a small increased rate of subsequent stillbirth and ectopic pregnancy. The increased rate is confounded, however, by underlying medical conditions, as well as the indication for the primary caesarean delivery. Sinéad M. O’Neill, MPH, […]
Read MoreI thought this was interesting even if it doesn’t deal with our specialty specifically. One in Five US Adults Use Tobacco Products Alcohol Remains a Leading Cause of Premature Death Obesity Epidemic Is Global, New Study Confirms Noncommunicable diseases are the main cause of illness and disability in the United States and are responsible for […]
Read MoreForty-six individuals die every day in the United States from an overdose of prescription painkillers, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Healthcare providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioid painkillers in 2012. “That’s enough for every American adult to have their own bottle of pills,” CDC director […]
Read MoreWhat is “employee engagement”? Psychologists, sociologists and CEOs alike are still arguing about the proper definition of the term, but they agree on the basics: An engaged employee is fully absorbed, satisfied, and furthers the organization’s mission through positive action. As an emerging leader, you probably embody engagement, and you know how it affects your […]
Read MoreAuthors: Robertson CS et al., JAMA 2014 Jul 2; 312:36 Neither the administration of erythropoietin nor the transfusion threshold has shown improvement of neurologic outcome in patients with traumatic brain injury. Head trauma occurs in 1.5 million Americans annually, at a cost of more than $56 billion. Erythropoietin (EPO) has potential as a neuroprotective agent […]
Read MoreCataract surgery may reduce the rate of cognitive decline and improve vision, cognition, and quality of life in dementia patients, new research suggests. Preliminary results from an ongoing prospective study conducted by investigators at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio, showed that in a cohort of patients with dementia and clinically significant cataracts, immediate cataract […]
Read MoreA new study confirms that people with fibromyalgia (FM) can experience objective impairments in cognitive and executive function independent of depression. FM patients “often complain about the so-called ‘Fibro-fog’, a cluster of cognitive disorders not always reflected in poor test-based performance, but which strongly interferes with work and daily life,” lead author Valentina Tesio, PhD, […]
Read More