In last month’s opening blog in this series, we defined the field of Population Health as including “health outcomes, patterns of health determinants, and policies and interventions that link these two.”
Despite everyone’s hopes — and the efforts and sacrifices of vaccine makers, public health authorities, and the general public — 2021 is ending much as it began, with continued disruption and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Physicians don’t usually encourage their patients to take unnecessary risks, much less take such risks themselves. After all, they are supposed to be role models. But there are times when taking on risk is not only the right thing to do but can show others the path to a bright healthcare future.
There are few things as satisfying as placing the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle in the correct spot.
January 29, 2021, is National Puzzle Day and even though finishing a jigsaw puzzle may be satisfying, solving unique problems specific to healthcare is another area worth celebrating.
What do you get when you combine lots of snowfall, a worldwide pandemic, and a nearly complete lockdown of your state?
From rural health centers to urban clinics and everywhere in-between, eClinicalWorks® and healow® are helping practices reinvent themselves to face emerging challenges and provide quality care to patients.
It’s been months since the COVID-19 pandemic transformed the way providers practice medicine. For many, the need for an almost overnight transformation became too much of a strain on their resources, and practices were forced to shut down permanently. Others like Little River Medical Center found the means to adapt and utilize comprehensive tools and strategies to find success in the wake of a global pandemic.
If there’s one word to describe Dr. Stephen Salopak, it would be impressive. He runs a sole provider practice in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he not only provides care for the many patients who live in the city but also those in the surrounding communities.
Since ancient times, the story of medicine has been one of ongoing discovery, pushing the frontiers of science forward to gain a deeper and more holistic understanding of what makes us ill and how we can restore health.
With so much uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, safety is on everyone’s mind right now. Providers may wonder about the best ways to continue seeing patients while minimizing the risk of spreading coronavirus and easing the anxiety of patients and staff.
I believe that Chronic Care Management (CCM) is one of the best tools that has ever been given to healthcare providers. I started using CCM in my office in October 2014 — a year before it became a benefit— because I’ve always believed healthcare was a team sport.
Although the cost has been high, the coronavirus pandemic has illustrated how much societies around the globe share — and how they can come together to improve health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 60% of American adults have at least one chronic illness, and 42% have two or more such illnesses — with heart disease, cancer, and diabetes leading the list of maladies that require ongoing medical attention and limit daily activities in some way.
They say that in business, as in life, you can’t do everything. You can’t have it all. But sometimes, just trying works out pretty well. That’s the case at Brown Clinic in Watertown, South Dakota, where staff have demonstrated that being a relatively small medical practice doesn’t mean you have to limit what you offer — or the healthcare IT expertise you can develop.
The fact that America is aging is no secret. According to the Population Reference Bureau, the number of Americans age 65 or older is expected to double by 2060 — to nearly 100 million. Nor is such information new. The trends have been apparent for years, and even if the estimates vary here and there, there’s no doubt that the nation’s average age is rising — bringing a lot of healthcare challenges.
