And four more news items for hospital administrators, health system leaders, practice managers, and other healthcare executives to peruse this week.
- In its health news segment, NPR tells the story of 10 Colorado-based hospitals that took part in a six-month pilot program, the Colorado Opioid Safety Collaborative, designed to reduce their organizations’ use of prescription pain medications. The strategy: collaboration between providers, pharmacies, clinical staff, and administrators as well as use of alternative treatments for pain, such as nonopioid patches. On average, the use of opioids in the facilities’ emergency departments was cut by an average of 36 percent.
- Launched by FierceHealthcare more than a decade ago, the Hospital Impact blog has a fresh look and a new name. Rebranded as FierceHospitals, the online publication remains dedicated to its audience of “current and emerging hospital leaders, thinkers, and enablers.” It continues to run posts from contributors but has added new content to its repertoire as well, including hospital-focused news, analyses, and features.
- Becker’s Hospital Review shares a short Q&A session with Mudit Garg, CEO of Qventus, a company using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve hospital operations. Garg, who will be serving on a panel at the publication’s 9th annual meeting in Chicago next month, reveals the disrupter that has his attention (and why) as well as the best investment he’s made in his own professional development in the past five years.
- In a recent article, Healthcare Finance highlights how electronic medical record (EMR) data can be used to boost referrals to healthcare organizations, from hospitals to standalone clinics, benefiting patients and health systems alike. “A lot of solutions will look at what are called cohorts and assume everyone in the cohort behaves the same way,” says Lori Brenner, vice president of Tea Leaves Health, who was interviewed for the piece. But the key, according to Brenner, is to identify individuals, not groups.
- MedPage Today’s meeting coverage of the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) 47th Critical Care Congress, which took place last week, includes a panel discussion on burnout of ICU clinicians, who rate highest for the condition, and measures to reduce it. “While we can’t eliminate the reality of a stressful work environment, we can create ICUs that are more nurturing and supportive,” said Jerry Zimmerman, MD, PhD, SCCM president. “It is critical that we do so … the vitality and sustainability of our critical care workforce is at stake.”
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