stem

Stem Cell Transplant in MS: Patients Support, but Neurologists Hesitant

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People who underwent a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), many of them patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), were supportive of the treatment despite its high costs — and hesitancy and opposition from their neurologists — a survey study showed.

Most surveyed HSCT recipients — about 85% — believed their symptoms were better controlled after the stem cell transplant, and those with MS saw an overall reduction in disability.

However, more than half of the transplant recipients’ neurologists did not support the procedure, and more than 30% did not continue patient care post-treatment, the survey found. read more

 

surgery

How robotics are improving patient care

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A trip to the emergency room, hospital stay, or even a routine visit to your doctor– it’s likely there’s a robot in the room.

As part of our “Ask the Expert” series, in partnership with Bon Secours St. Francis, 7News Anchor Taylor Murray spoke with two physicians about robotics and how they are improving the quality of care.

Robots in healthcare settings help to support healthcare workers and enhance patient care. read more

doctor

NY physician groups merge, feds wary of potential cost increases for patients

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Some of the Hudson Valley region’s largest physician groups recently partnered with regional and national companies amid concern from federal regulators that health care mergers increase costs of care for patients.

CareMount Medical, which is part of a group of over 2,100 providers serving more than 1.6 million patients throughout the Hudson Valley and New York City, recently finalized its move to join Optum, one of the largest owners of provider groups in the country, with 53,000 physicians nationally. read more

healthcare

Pharmacy students’ law a game changer for patient care

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Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington State University pharmacy students were on the frontline, helping to test for the virus thanks in part to legislation they helped pass in 2019.

A new study in the Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice describes the impact of the legislation, which enables students studying to become pharmacists, nurses, and physicians to be precepted by professionals across these disciplines. read more

spiritual

Spirituality linked with better health outcomes, patient care

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Boston, MA—Spirituality should be incorporated into care for both serious illness and overall health, according to a study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“This study represents the most rigorous and comprehensive systematic analysis of the modern day literature regarding health and spirituality to date,” said Tracy Balboni, lead author and senior physician at the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center and professor of radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School. “Our findings indicate that attention to spirituality in serious illness and in health should be a vital part of future whole person-centered care, and the results should stimulate more national discussion and progress on how spirituality can be incorporated into this type of value-sensitive care.” read more

supplies

Shortages from syringes to dye for diagnostic exams: How world events are straining everyday health care supply

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In May, clinicians and patients at the University of Arizona Health Network had to delay non-urgent CT scans that required contrast media, a type of dye injected into the body to make organs and blood vessels more visible. It’s used to aid in the diagnosis of a variety of conditions, including some serious ones, such as cancer and blood clots.

A strict COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, China, had shut down a plant that manufactures the contrast and the 30-hospital medical center, like many others, suddenly found itself in short supply of the important diagnostic agent. read more

doctor

Silicon Valley doctors decry plan to pay bonuses for seeing more patients

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Local doctors are outraged over a proposal from Santa Clara County to tie some of their pay to the number of patients they see.

The physicians from three county-owned hospitals say the model will hurt patients and quality of treatment. Nine doctors from Santa Clara Valley Medical Center gathered in front of the county offices Tuesday to sound the alarm on the new pay program.

The new compensation plan, which is still short on details, is the county’s response to the physicians’ demands for higher pay to help recruit and retain doctors. Roughly 80% of physicians in Silicon Valley earn more than those working at the county hospitals, according to an analysis by the doctors’ union. This has resulted in retention issues, longer workdays, and more clerical responsibilities for doctors, union members said. read more

Roe v Wade

Federal agency can expand access to birth control under Medicaid if Roe v. Wade is overturned

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In her first year as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Chiquita Brooks-Lasure has overseen the expansion of government health coverage to a record number of Americans under Medicare, Medicaid and private Affordable Care Act exchange plans.

Now, she wants to keep them insured, and expand access to services for women.

“We cover over 150 million people as a result of all of the hard work of the agency really enrolling people in coverage. So, we are a huge payer, and we help dictate coverage in this country … and have a powerful opportunity to advance health equity,” Brooks-Lasure said. read more

CEO’s Make Healthcare Worker Safety a Top Priority

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A group of healthcare organization CEOs recently adopted a Declaration of Principles to improve the safety of healthcare workers. Healthcare settings pose several safety concerns for caregivers and other staff members.

Read more…

Coronavirus Patient

COVID-19 Accelerates Patient Experience Efforts, Care Coordination

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COVID-19 has escalated patient experience efforts, mostly around care coordination and patient engagement, found Insights’ latest report, Overcoming Challenges to Effective Patient Experience.

A majority (69%) of survey respondents—stakeholders across provider organizations involved in patient experience—say patient experience efforts have grown amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Only seven percent of respondents say efforts have declined during the pandemic.

At the center of patient experience are two elements: care coordination and patient engagement.

Read more…