CW Hall Archives - Page 22 of 30

Population Health Management

March 4, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

Population Health Management

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Population Health Management

The notion of working to improve a population’s awareness of wellness and disease is not new. For decades we have sought to reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including reduced smoking rates, early detection for cancers, and decrease obesity (not to mention containing healthcare costs) But with improving data capabilities, interoperability between EMR’s and data systems, changing laws, and an over-arching goal of improving the general health and wellness of our population we are beginning to see ever-greater emphasis on population health management as a strategy to both contain costs and improve outcomes. Check out this week’s episode to learn more about how your company can save long-term costs while at the same time improving quality- and length of life to their employees.

As a health strategy, population health management focuses heavily on preventive care measures, coupled with making such care delivery as convenient as possible for the population involved. Additionally, procedures around work place injuries are assessed and if needed, modified to include triage that can prevent the use of ER to initiate care when such injuries/exposures occur.

We talked about how Dekalb Medical restructured their approach to their own employees’ wellness and work place injuries, successfully reducing their spend on high cost claims, ER visits, and work place injuries. They are now collaborating with businesses in the community to collaborate with them to improve the wellness/safety of their respective employees and helping them achieve the same sort of cost savings on health/risk in their enterprises. These efforts are steadily improving the aggregate health of the Dekalb Medical catchment area patients through more consistent, integrated delivery of preventive/wellness-focused care.

Dekalb Medical, a long-standing pillar of the Atlanta health systems, serving the eastern half of the metro, has proven to be an innovator and thought leaders in the concept of population health management. After a multi-year effort to reduce cost and improve outcomes for their own ~4000 employees, including decreasing work-place accidents and ER visits, they have an impressive list of successes to talk about.

And as a well-established health system with the full complement of services from acute to tertiary, diagnostic and procedural services available, Dekalb Medical is uniquely positioned to exert positive effects on the health of the large metropolitan population they serve.

About DeKalb Medical

Founded in 1961, DeKalb Regional Health System, Inc., known as DeKalb Medical, is comprised of more than 800 doctors skilled in 55 medical specialties across three campuses. The 627-bed system includes DeKalb Medical at North Decatur (451 beds), DeKalb Medical Long Term Acute Care at Downtown Decatur (77 beds), DeKalb Medical at Hillandale (100 beds), DeKalb Medical Physicians Group and the DeKalb Medical Foundation.

This week Diana Keough and I sat down with Dr. Shealynn Buck and Jim Forstner from the health system. We talked about population health management as a concept and how it was put to work as a strategy to the benefit of both its employees and the bottom line of the organization.

Dekalb Medical is now providing similar population health management services to employers within their catchment area around the east perimeter of Atlanta and beyond. They are engaging employers’ employees through gameficiation, on-site services, consulting regarding workplace safety, narrow network benefits that save costs and improve outcomes, and more. We talked about how the notion of population health management is a move from transactional, disease-focused care to a relational, wellness-focused model and how that can save both money and improve lives of employees. We also discussed some positive unintended consequences that can come through offering such a health initiative to an employee population.

The not-for-profit health care system is a HealthGrades® Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Heart Attack in 2013 and Five-Star Recipient for Peripheral Vascular Bypass in 2012, and earned the Get With The Guidelines®–Stroke Silver Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart/American Stroke Association. Their Maternity Center was selected as a participant in the Best Fed Beginnings project as part of UNICEF/WHO’s Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. The Dekalb Medical Cancer Center received the Outstanding Achievement Award and is granted three-year approval by The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons as a community hospital comprehensive oncology program. Their Joint Solutions Center is a metro Atlanta leader in joint replacement.

In addition, The Dekalb Medical LTAC earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for acquired brain injury, wound care and respiratory failure services. Their WorksWell® program is dedicated to supporting employers with solutions to maximize the health, safety and well-being of their employees while improving performance and the bottom line.

Special Guests:

Dr. Shealynn Buck, MD, Executive Director, Dekalb Medical WorksWell and Medical Director of Dekalb Medical Wellness Center

Doctor of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
Residency, Pathology, Emory University School of Medicine
Fellow, Transfusion Medicine and Cellular Therapies
Former Assistant Medical Director, American Red Cross

Jim Forstner, SVP & Senior Strategy Officer of Dekalb Medical

>10 years service on Dekalb Medical executive team
Previous Executive Director for Contracting, Physician and Ambulatory Ventures, Dekalb Medical
Previous Director, Patient Financial Services, Dekalb Medical

Patient Engagement – Top Docs Radio

February 25, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Patient Engagement - Top Docs Radio

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Patient Engagement

This week I caught up with our friend, Frank Martin, of The Medical Consultants Group. We talked about how his consulting firm can help a wide range of medical practices, from solo offices to multi-site large groups. Frank talked about the variety of facets of a business that is a medical practice improve operations.

Frank talked about strategies for helping patients related to managing their out-of-pocket obligation, including deductible and co-payment. We also discussed how the ACA has placed new emphasis on patient satisfaction and outcomes relating to how the practice (or isn’t) reimbursed. Another requirement is to provide an electronic portal that allows remote access to patient data BY the patient, coupled with a means to transmit/receive relevant information to/from patients.

We discussed the difference between legacy EMR systems (where software was installed on hardware in the office) and cloud-based applications where data and the software exist on a remote cloud-computing-based architecture. The decision-making capability of the cloud-based applications, coupled with security and rapid access to important data, make modern cloud-based EMR applications the wise choice for practices to convert to today. These modern applications do not require on-site updates of the application on every device. Now, the application is updated where it lives, meaning the user’s experience is not interrupted or inconvenienced.

Frank places great emphasis on helping his client practices become better-running businesses. To that end he works with the group to be able to change processes, or software, business plan, and/or other key facets such as office location and office space leasing to operate more efficiently and profitably.

Special Guest

Frank Martin / Medical Consultants Group

Past recipient, “Volunteer of the Year, Big Brothers Big Sisters”
Published author
Successful entrepreneur in the healthcare sector

Experiential Marketing

February 24, 2015 by angishields

Midtown Business Radio

Experiential Marketing

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Experiential Marketing

This week I sat down with experiential marketing expert, Stu Sheldon of Escalate. Stu spent several years building brands for Coca Cola, including Mello Yello. Like that refrigerator pack your 12 pack comes in? Coca Cola introduced that idea and tested it with the Mello Yello brand with impressive success. Stu shared some excellent information about the difference between paid advertising campaigns and experiential marketing.

In an economy where every dollar counts, companies that are seeking to increase frequency a customer purchases their product or service as well as adding new customers can often gain greater results through an experiential marketing approach. Stu talked about the fact that even in situations where a company has an advertising agency that has produced creative material, Escalate can collaborate with company and agency to build on what has been created to “Make it come to life”.

Stu explained that while even a small company can benefit from experiential marketing, they typically work with mid-sized to large companies seeking to expand brand awareness. They have an impressive list of success stories from Coca Cola to non-profit organizations. Check out this great episode–I think you’ll find it both informative and interesting!

Special Guest:

Stuart Sheldon, Chief Advocacy Officer at Escalate

BA, English and Journalism, Washington and Lee University
Former Senior Brand Manager, Coca Cola Company
Founder and Former Evangelist Prime, ConnectUs Marketing
2006 Coca-Cola North America Big, Bold & Inspiring Marketing award; Coca-Cola Worldwide Marketing Excellence award finalist.

National Parkinson Foundation

February 18, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

National Parkinson Foundation

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National Parkinson Foundation

This week we sat down with the President and CEO of National Parkinson Foundation, Joyce Oberdorf and Larry Kahn, CEO/Founder of PD Gladiators, a man who develoed early-onset Parkinson disease. Approximately 1 Million people are living with Parkinson disease in the US today. The National Parkinson Foundation’s website describes Parkinson disease this way, “Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive movement disorder, meaning that symptoms continue and worsen over time. Nearly one million people in the US are living with Parkinson’s disease. The cause is unknown, and although there is presently no cure, there are treatment options such as medication and surgery to manage its symptoms.

Parkinson’s involves the malfunction and death of vital nerve cells in the brain, called neurons. Parkinson’s primarily affects neurons in the an area of the brain called the substantia nigra. Some of these dying neurons produce dopamine, a chemical that sends messages to the part of the brain that controls movement and coordination. As PD progresses, the amount of dopamine produced in the brain decreases, leaving a person unable to control movement normally.”

Joyce came by to talk about research the National Parkinson Foundation is supporting that is aimed at improving the quality of life of patients living with the disease today. They seek to share best practices that show promise among providers, with regard to the pace of progression and/or severity of symptoms so these persons can enjoy life more fully, longer.

She brought Larry Kahn, founder of PD Gladiators, a boxing gym exclusively for PD patients that was launched after Larry learned about and experienced the benefits of vigorous exercise on his symptoms. He shared his poignant story about learning he has PD (after having had it missed over a year earlier by his initial doctor), how he and his wife approached the diagnosis, and how/why he started PD Gladiators. Larry and Joyce talked about research that has shown the benefits of vigorous exercise on cognitive function among ALL of us, including PD patients. They endeavor to share that information widely so that more PD patients can receive the reparative benefits themselves.

We talked about the resources needed by the National Parkinson Foundation and Larry that will enable them to further advance awareness and quality of life among Parkinson disease patients. We hope you share this podcast, as the information they shared will very likely help someone you care about who’s suffering with Parkinson today.

Special Guests:

Joyce Oberdorf, President and CEO, National Parkinson Foundation

Larry Kahn, Founder, CEO, PD Gladiators

The 4 R’s of Gut Health – Top Docs Radio

February 18, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

The 4 R's of Gut Health - Top Docs Radio

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The 4 R’s of Gut Health

Did you know that as much as 80% of your body’s immune capacity comes from your gut? Neither did we. That’s why we’re glad Dr. Ellie Campbell of Campbell Family Medicine came by to blow our minds(again) with information (The 4 R’s of Gut Health) about ways we can dramatically improve our health. She shared how she progressed from her traditional primary care practice to a Direct Pay model to get away from the pressure to see more patients, faster, in order to make a respectable physician’s income. In her office she doesn’t work with insurance companies. Instead, her patients simply pay a monthly membership fee to have access to her 24 hours a day, 7 days per week (sometimes even when on vacation!). She also wanted to be able to provide care to her patients that is based on best practices and evidence rather than being simply limited to what an insurance company will or won’t pay for.

We talked about the fact that, with limited time per patient, prescribing a medication and moving on to the next patient is often the way physicians must conduct their practice. She shared how allergic responses to foods and other environmental sources are behind many of our illnesses (or mirror many illnesses). We also talked about how important what we eat and drink is in our overall health. Dr. Campbell described how food and beverages have such dramatic impacts on our hormone levels and cellular health that we need to look at what we consume much like drugs one can take in a pill.

Dr. Campbell discussed The 4 R’s of Gut Health, going over foods we should eliminate (or at a minimum significantly reduce) from our diets because they cause inflammatory responses in the gut and vascular system (and elsewhere). Things like wheat and plants from the nightshade family such as tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and eggplant can, for many, create allergic reactions. The challenge is, many of these allergic responses don’t manifest in immediately-recognizable ways. It could be a general feeling of malaise, skin problems, GI problems that can emulate reflux, and more.

The 4 R’s of Gut Health (Explained in greater detail in the interview):

Remove offending substances from the diet.
Replace digestive enzymes, bile salts, immunoglobulins, DAO, and stomach acid where necessary
Re-inoculate the bowel with pre- and probiotics
Repair gastroentestinal mucosa through proper nutritional support

Special Guests:

Dr. Ellie Campbell, DO, Family Practice & Integrative Medicine at Campbell Family Medicine

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine
Family Medicine Residency, Medical College of Georgia
Board Certified Family Medicine

Sean’s Harvest Market and You Talk I Write

February 17, 2015 by angishields

Midtown Business Radio

Sean's Harvest Market and You Talk I Write

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Sean’s Harvest Market and You Talk I Write

Today we had the opportunity to sit down with experts from Sean’s Harvest Market and You Talk I Write. Sean Germain and his wife, Amber Chaney (also a working actor), opened their first location for Sean’s Harvest Market in January 2014. The thing that makes that an interesting fact is that the eatery/market is an open air setting with a dining bar where patrons can watch their food being prepared. The day they opened it was 7 degrees!

Sean talked about the fact that they have recently opened a second location on Peachtree based on the success of their Amsterdam Walk site where they got their start. He and Amber shared how they focus on providing a fresh, frequently–changing menu based on availability of locally-sourced ingredients. They also sell home-grown vegetables such as tomatoes and berries grown on their NC farm. With 3 children in the home and a successful acting career on Amber’s part the couple talked about how they juggle busy schedules to follow their passions for food service and entertainment.

Amber has worked as an actor on a number of films such as Hunger Games, Attack of the Morningside Monster, and Cupid’s Requiem. We had fun joking around sampling some of her accents, laughing about how she’s been able to call on her early life in Acworth, GA, a small community Northwest of Atlanta.

Candi Cross joined us and talked about her work as a ghostwriter for a variety of authors and businesses with a story to tell. She described the process of interviewing her clients, learning what they are trying to convey, and getting a sense of the person or business in order to best represent what they’re trying to get across. She’s worked with well-known authors as well as executives and corporations. We talked about the variety of publications she has contributed to, drawing on her 20+ years of writing experience to produce high quality content. She’s been providing such a high quality of writing she has been able to stay busy for the past 5 years through word-of-mouth referrals from her happy clients.

Special Guests:

Sean Germain, Co-Founder of Sean’s Harvest Market

Amber Chaney, Actor, Co-Founder of Sean’s Harvest Market

Candi Cross, Ghostwriter, You Talk I Write

GeorgiaSHAPE

February 12, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

GeorgiaSHAPE

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GeorgiaSHAPE

The Centers for Disease Control published these striking statistics about childhood obesity in the US:

Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years.^{1, 2}
The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.^{1, 2}
In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.¹
Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors.³ Obesity is defined as having excess body fat.⁴
Overweight and obesity are the result of “caloric imbalance”—too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed—and are affected by various genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors.^5,6

Clearly, the trends are alarming and we must act now to reverse them or we will face enormous human and financial costs in a variety of health issues that tend to increase among obese patients. Obese persons face higher rates of developing diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, poor healing, and other challenges. In addition to the health concerns associated with obesity, research has revealed connections between physical activity and academic performance.

We sat down with several key team members from the multifaceted task force whose goal it is to tackle the problem of obesity and caloric imbalance among our youth. Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, MD, serves as the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) and State Health Officer. In addition to her numerous duties, she oversees a program put forth by the governor called, “GeorgiaSHAPE“. This program, a public-private partnership, provides research-supported recommendations for Georgia schools to incorporate an additional 30 minutes of physical activity in the course of the day (often within the classroom itself during brief breaks from academic work). See: Pledge to Power Up for 30 The goal is to enroll the roughly 1300 state-wide grade schools into the program to help reduce obesity and improve academic performance. Participating schools receive funds to support the program and also gain access to grants through philanthropic organizations such as the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation.

Along with Dr. Fitzgerald we hosted experts from the Georgia Department of Education, Georgia State University’s Public Health Policy Center, HealthMPowers, the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, and an educator and student from Carrollton Elementary Schools (one of the early adopters of the program). They shared research findings regarding the value of physical activity as it relates to brain function and, correspondingly, math, reading, and spelling performance among young students. We talked about the fact that currently, only ~1/3rd of Georgia’s schools are enrolled to participate in this important program that has clear, far-reaching benefits to our young people and our collective community health.

“You need to remember that yes, there had been an increase throughout the country [in childhood obesity]. But, Georgia, as far as childhood obesity—we were the second worst state in the entire country,” according to Dr. Fitzgerald. “. . .We now have three years of measurements from looking at Georgia’s children. . .Here are the numbers: 40% of the children in our school systems are not at a healthy weight. . .Here’s the one that scares me. We looked at a variety of things—not just weight. But also, it’s called ‘aerobic capacity’. And we looked at flexibility and we looked at muscle strength. And, the tests are not trying out for the Olympics. It’s not even trying out for the football team. It’s walking a mile and touching your toes. And only 19% of Georgia’s children were able to do all tests. . . So, clearly, this became the governor’s main interest because we knew unhealthy kids, of course, would lead to unhealthy adults.”

Panelists:

Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, MD, Commissioner of Georgia Department of Health

Dr. John Bare, PhD, Vice President of Programs, Arthur M. Blank Foundation and Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation

Dr. Emily Vall, PhD, Obesity Project Manager, GeorgiaSHAPE

Diana Keough, CEO/Founder, ShareWIK Media Group

Deborah Kibbie, Georgia State University Public Health Policy Center, Chief Evaluator of GeorgiaSHAPE

Therese McGuire, Health and Physical Education Program Specialist at Georgia Department of Education

Wendy McDowell, Educator, Carrollton County Elementary Schools

Colt Shadrix, 3rd Grade Student, Carrollton Elementary Schools

Correctional Medicine – Top Docs Radio

February 12, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Correctional Medicine - Top Docs Radio

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Correctional Medicine

This week we continued our monthly series with Medical Association of Georgia. I sat down with MAG CEO/Executive Director, Donald Palmisano, Jr., and Director of Correctional Medicine, Clyde Maxwell. We talked about how MAG became involved with accreditation of numerous correctional medicine facilities in the state of Georgia.

MAG created its Correctional Medicine Committee in 1975 – following the prison riots in Attica, New York, and just before Georgia State Prison was placed under the jurisdiction of the federal courts for maintaining health care facilities that violated a constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The committee was charged with “studying and recommending ways to improve the delivery of health care in non-federal prisons in Georgia.”

MAG developed standards for evaluating health care in jails and prisons in the state as part of a national initiative; these evolved into the standards that are now used by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care.

In 1982, MAG developed legislation to establish an accreditation program for health care for correctional facilities in Georgia. The state began funding the program in 1983, and MAG subsequently started charging application fees for site accreditation visits.

The Medical College of Georgia assumed responsibility for the health services contract for state prisons in the 1990s.

MAG currently surveys eight county jails and 33 state prisons.

A number of major deficiencies have been corrected at jails and prisons in the state as a result of MAG’s site accreditation visits, including some that were related to…

Physician and nurse licensure
Physician and nurse CPR/ACLS certification
Expired pharmaceuticals
Needle and narcotics security
Nurse call systems
Inmate physicals
Mandatory CQI and infection control meetings

Special Guests:

Donald Palmisano, CEO, Executive Director of Medical Association of Georgia

JD Law, Loyola School of Law
Board of Directors, Physician Advocacy Institute
Medical Payment Subcommitte Member, State Board of Workers’ Compensation
Treasurer, Board of Directors, Physicians’ Institute for Excellence in Medicine
Former Director, Government Relations/General Counsel/Director, GAMPAC

Clyde Maxwell, Director of Correctional Medicine of Medical Association of Georgia

Masters, Hospital Administration, Baylor University
Certified Correctional Health Professional
Active duty in the Medical Service Corps for more than 20 years
Designed the “Quick Reaction Hospital” that is used to respond to natural disasters through much of the world

Georgia Prostate Cancer Coalition – Top Docs Radio

February 11, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Georgia Prostate Cancer Coalition - Top Docs Radio

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Georgia Prostate Cancer Coalition

Statistics show that 1 in 6 men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime. The risk for developing the disease rises with age, being most prevalent among men over the age of 60. However, the risk begins to rise after 40 and prevailing medical thought is men should get at a minimum a PSA test (a blood test that can detect prostate cancer) or if possible a digital rectal exam as well around the age of 40. This will provide an early warning if there are worrisome findings on either study that will afford the patient more options for treatment that are much less traumatic and much more likely to be successful than if the cancer is found at a more advanced stage.

Ken shared his own story about how he was found to have a lump on his prostate on an insurance exam but was not actually recommended to have a biopsy until roughly a year later. At that point it was found he did, in fact, have prostate cancer and that it was a more advanced stage. He ended up having a radical prostatectomy, followed by a recurrence of the cancer. To fight the recurrence of the cancer he underwent radiation therapy and more surgeries. After all of that it was found his PSA levels were rising yet again, prompting his physicians to recommend hormone therapy to slow the progress of the cancer.

After his challenging experiences he began to work to increase awareness of the value of early detection of the disease to help his male counterparts avoid having to undergo similar difficulties. He interfaced with the American Cancer Society to lobby for increased information for men about the risks of prostate cancer and the benefits of early detection. He spent some time as a spokesman for the American Cancer Society. He ultimately co-founded the Georgia Prostate Cancer Coalition, a non-profit organization aimed at creating community awareness as well as raising funds to help provide screening (including some free PSA testing) for men in the community. The organization also collaborates with community businesses to help them provide prostate cancer screening for their male employees.

In speaking with Ken it’s clear that we men can do ourselves a big favor and go to our primary care physician or one of the screening events held by the Georgia Prostate Cancer Coalition to get a PSA test done and ideally, couple that with a digital rectal exam. If our lot in life is to be a prostate cancer patient, we can have a large impact on what our journey is like in dealing with it if we endeavor to catch it early.

Special Guest:

Ken Stevens, Co-founder of Georgia Prostate Cancer Coalition