News & Updates September 15, 2014
TOP STORY
Hospitals must help patients access digital records — or else
The digitization of health-care records has long been heralded as the cure for familiar headaches that afflict patients and their families.
POLITICS
CHICAGO (August 29, 2014): After authoring a new law to include burn injuries as part of trauma care, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), is working on legislation to provide long overdue financing to develop and revitalize the nation’s state and rural trauma systems and to create innovative new models of regionalized emergency care.
Thomas Suddes commentary: Money is the fuel that keeps the Statehouse rolling
You may think leadership is measured in Columbus by stands taken or laws passed. Actually, size matters: Leadership is often measured by how big a state legislator’s (or his or her caucus’s) campaign fund is.
In walking away from FitzGerald campaign, Ohio Dems risk bigger losses: Brent Larkin
With one of the most lopsided election losses in Ohio history just two months off, it’s difficult to imagine Democrats doing anything to make their plight any worse.
SURGEONS
CMS Restores Open Payments Site, Will Withhold Some Provider Data
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reopened the Open Payments system on August 15 after taking it offline due to a significant glitch in the system. CMS has also confirmed that it will withhold approximately one-third of reported data from the 2013 reporting year due to suspected inaccuracies.
“Ask The Expert” Online Discussion– Complicated Disease (Obstruction, Perf ) Howard Ross, MD
Thursday, September 18, 2014, 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) —JOIN US IN AN ONLINE DISCUSSION REGARDING THE TREATMENT OF COMPLICATED DISEASE–LARGE TUMORS, PERFORATION, CROHN’S—BRING YOUR DIFFICULT CASES. (REMEMBER, YOU WRITE IN, HE ANSWERS BACK). Howard will be available during this 90 min block to answer any questions you may have about the diagnosis, preoperative planning and treatment of these patients, thoughts on difficult cases, and general questions about the evaluation, testing, and management for complicated cases such as those above. He will also be available to share any tips and tricks.
“Ask The Expert” Online Discussion– Hereditary CRC Syndromes, Paul E. Wise, MD
Thursday, September 25, 2014, 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))— JOIN US IN AN ONLINE DISCUSSION REGARDING HEREDITARY COLORECTAL CANCER SYNDROMES- DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT WITH PAUL E. WISE, MD
Paul will be available during this 90 min block to answer any questions you may have about the diagnosis and treatment of these patients, thoughts on difficult cases, and general questions about the evaluation, testing, and management for possible hereditary syndromes.
Brain benefits from weight loss following bariatric surgery
Weight loss surgery can curb alterations in brain activity associated with obesity and improve cognitive function involved in planning, strategizing and organizing, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
The gleaming tower nearing completion as part of Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s $1.1 billion expansion has drawn plenty of new recruits.
21 spine, neurosurgeons on the move
Dayton, Ohio-based Wright State Physicians Orthopaedics welcomed Mark Kayanja, MD, PhD, an orthopedic spine surgeon who previously practiced with The CORE Institute in Phoenix.
Doctors joining major health-care systems
Obamacare, technology help spark move from private practice
EDUCATION
Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) is seeking active or retired physicians to become professional raters. Raters are asked to observe clinical encounters between standardized patients and other health care profession students and to provide constructive feedback and assessment.
The Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) Foundation continues to demonstrate success in its efforts to strengthen the financial capacity of the University, announcing a banner fundraising year and welcoming new members and officers to its 26-member volunteer Board of Directors.
Ohio State’s Greif Neonatal Survival Program Continues Growth
The Ohio State University Greif Neonatal Survival Program (OSUGNP) has been impacting the lives of many since its beginning in 2012. The program, created with a $2.5 million grant from Greif Inc., works to improve the lives of mothers and infants in low-income countries, through self-sustaining education and training programs to increase the in-country capacity of healthcare workers.
Gulati Recieves 2014 Women in Cardiology Mentoring Award
Martha Gulati, MD, director of Preventive Cardiology and Women’s Heart Health and the Sara Ross Soter Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health at the The Ohio State University’s Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital, recently received the 2014 Women in Cardiology Mentoring Award from theAmerican Heart Association’s Council on Clinical Cardiology.
Protective Hinge Process Enables Insulin to Bind to Cells CASE WESTERN RESERVE SCIENTIST HELPS LEAD STUDY THAT WILL ENHANCE INSULIN PRODUCTS AND IMPROVE BLOOD SUGAR CONTROL
Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals Announce Collaborative Fundraising Initiative for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer ANNOUNCEMENT COMES AS CHAR AND CHUCK FOWLER MAKE THIRD MAJOR GIFT TO HELP DEFEAT THE DISEASE, INSPIRING AN ANONYMOUS DONOR TO COMMIT $5 MILLION AS WELL
Emergency Medicine residents win quiz show at Ohio ACEP assembly Residents from the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine placed first in the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association (EMRA) Quiz Show on Aug. 14 in Columbus, Ohio.
American Society of Hematology Selects 2014 Minority Medical Student Award Program Class Ruth Claros, a second-year medical student at the Boonshoft School of Medicine, was one of 12 students nationwide selected for the American Society of Hematology Minority Medical Student Award Program. She will design and implement a hematology-related research project.
HOSPITALS
Drone delays medical helicopter landing at OH hospital (WDTN) An unexpected drone in the area around Dayton, Ohio’s Miami Valley Hospital prevented a CareFlight helicopter from landing, with a “significantly hurt” patient onboard.
University Hospitals first in Ohio to offer implantable device to treat moderate to severe sleep apnea CLEVELAND – The recent approval by the Food and Drug Administration of a new treatment for obstructive sleep apnea is becoming more widely available in the United States and is now available for the first time in Ohio.
Anthem, CareSource by far sell the most insurance in Ohio, analysis find Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio was the largest insurer in the state in 2013 with $5.1 billion in revenue, according to an analysis of financial statements by the Ohio Hospital Association.
Hospitals’ hand washing strategies effective in reducing patient infection rates CLEVELAND, Ohio — A bacterial infection in 2010 that spread from the room of one patient to another served as the impetus of an intensive hand-washing program atMetroHealth Medical Center. Less than four years later, hospital officials are taking pride in the reduction of hospital-acquired infections.
TRAUMA/OCOT
Local trauma network expands with addition of Southwest General’s Level 3 trauma center CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Northern Ohio Trauma System, a collaboration of MetroHealth Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic, has a new member. Southwest General Health Center has signed an agreement to join NOTS, which coordinates care among the region’s high-level trauma centers.
Mason emergency center with helipad breaks ground The largest health care system in Southwest Ohio broke ground Thursday on a new medical complex and emergency center in Mason.
TELEMEDICINE
Telemedicine growing in Ohio, but faces obstacles Video conferencing allows a neurologist at a metropolitan hospital to examine a stroke patient in rural Ohio — saving time and, potentially, the patient’s life.
Neurology: The Next Frontier in Telehealth? Miles E. Drake, M.D., professor emeritus of psychology and neurology at the Ohio State University, has a long history with telehealth. When the neurological doctor was at Duke University Medical Center, he had experience with the telephonic transmitting brain wave recordings.
MALPRACTICE
Fraud cases build against surgeons The link between unnecessary surgery and alleged healthcare fraud made headlines last week in cases against a Virginia dermatologist and an orthopedic surgeon in Ohio.
Editorial: Cautionary tale about spine-surgery provider Back pain sufferers, beware. Lots of businesses out there are more than willing to take your money and exploit your desperation for relief. Advertisements showing people in white coats with stethoscopes promise “minimally invasive” treatment to address the problem.