FirstHx’s Post

Excited to spotlight two recent collaborative achievements featuring iMSKA Advisory Board member, Trevor Lentz and co-authors who are advancing research and clinical practice in innovative ways! 📄 "The Implementation of a Pain Navigator Program in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Health Care Systems: A Cluster Randomized Pragmatic Clinical Trial" Courtni France, Chad Cook, Cynthia Coffman, Christa Tumminello, MPH, Ashley Choate, Steven Z. George and Susan Hastings, MD This study highlights how Pain Navigator Programs can improve care coordination, enhance outcomes, and address the unique challenges of chronic pain management, specifically LBP for veterans. ➡️ Read the full publication here: https://lnkd.in/dywuNMqK 📄 "Referral, Enrollment, and Health Care Use in a Comprehensive Patient-Centered Management Program for Osteoarthritis of the Hip and Knee" Preston Roundy, Emily Poehlein, Cynthia Green, Richard C. Mather, III and Bill Jiranek This publication showcases the power of interdisciplinary collaboration to optimize referral pathways, enrollment processes, and health care utilization for individuals with hip and knee osteoarthritis. ➡️ Read the full publication here: doi: : 10.1016/j.ocarto.2024.100532 Both efforts demonstrate the impact of patient-centered, evidence-based approaches in improving #MSK health and beyond. Congratulations to all involved for these meaningful contributions to the field! #MSKHealth #ResearchInnovation #CollaborativeCare #iMSKA #PainManagement #Osteoarthritis #VeteransHealth

Do you have trouble getting new products approved by your hospital’s Value Analysis Committee?   Are you unsure how to make the clinical (and business) case for products that could improve care and outcomes for your patients?   If so, I invite you to join us on April 24 for our new webinar: "How Trauma Program Leaders Can Work Effectively With Value Analysis to Secure Approval for New Products"   This interactive webinar will demystify the Value Analysis process and show how trauma professionals can work efficiently and collaboratively with their hospital’s Value Analysis team.   Experienced trauma leader Melinda Case will explain how to identify the full range of value offered by a new product…   …and Mark Copeland (the “Value Analysis Whisperer”) will show exactly how to frame new product requests for maximum clarity and present them effectively to your hospital’s Value Analysis Committee...   …in addition, Blake Havers from Aspen Medical Products will present a short case study of Aspen’s new VRTX system that illustrates the concepts presented by Melinda and Mark.   This webinar will include a live Q&A, so come with all your unanswered questions about Value Analysis processes and priorities.    To find out more and reserve your seat, click the link I'm sharing in the comment section below 👇

A group effort to modernize prior authorization has been recognized by KLAS with a 2024 Points of Light Award. Their case study, "Using FHIR Standards to Streamline Prior Authorization Management & Improve Patient Care," details how collaboration improved efficiency and patient access to care. The collaboration focused on developing an automated electronic prior authorization process. They leveraged Da Vinci Burden Reduction Implementation Guides, a set of industry standards, to streamline the process. Results included: - Nearly 54% of requests required no authorization. - 70% of prior authorization requests received instant approval from Humana. - Turnaround time for approvals went from days to weeks down to about one day, exceeding industry averages and CMS targets. Learn more: https://hubs.ly/Q02zRPHG0

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵: 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗩𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲-𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ⏰ Time to bring function is absolutely critical and that's the introduction to awareness for National Stroke Month in the United States. The essence of understanding the importance between time management and stroke is crucial so if you see someone who you think is having a stroke, or you think you're having a stroke, time is key. Listen in about stroke awareness and ways you might be able to save a life. 🚨 ➖➖➖ Over the last 25+ years as an MD with an MBA and MPH, I have worked with 3 Multi-Million dollar Hospital organizations serving as VPMA and CMO saving millions of dollars and improving quality. I went on to serve as Chief Physician Executive for BDO USA, the fifth-largest professional services firm in the United States. The key to my clients' success has been my proprietary ACCESS Methodology: Assess Coach Consult Execute Strategize Simplify Today, I run my own organization helping hospital executives solve their “Burning Issues”. For a limited time, get my newest ebook for free: "Caught in the Crossfire: The 5 Executive Errors That Ignite Corporate Crises in Hospitals”. Quickly learn 5 critical hospital mistakes and how to fix them. ***** 👉 Type “PDF” in the COMMENTS, and I will send you a FREE PDF copy. #strokeawareness #strokemonth #healthcare #strokeprevention #hospitalexecutives #physicians

New practice management resource! 🌟 This program, The Building and Sustaining Co-Management Programs in Hospital Medicine: A Technical Report and Operational Guide, draws from a comprehensive review of research & real-world experiences and features key considerations for creating, leading, or participating in hospitalist co-management models. 📋 https://bit.ly/4guLM4L

I’m excited to share our recent publication in Annals of Family Medicine, “What Are Doctors For? A Call for Compassion-Based Metrics as a Measuer of Physician Value.” Modern measures of physician value are couched in terms of productivity, volume, finance, outcomes, cure rates, and acquisition of an increasingly vast knowledge base. Prior to the 20th century, physicians were not expected to excel at speed of care or recognized for the volume of decisions made in a short period of time. Instead, their work was rooted in their role as “compassionate witnesses.” Population health and productivity metrics, while necessary measurements for health system outcomes, are poor measures of a physician’s full performance and can lead to feelings of inadequacy and loss of purpose. Efforts to avert burnout and imposter syndrome in physicians would benefit from a new paradigm for metrics based on traditional understandings of physicians’ value—their ability to compassionately care. Such a measure would be expected to improve patient satisfaction and outcomes, population health, and physician well-being. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eEH5Y_6B.

3️⃣ Simple ways to separate the two workflows in A&E... 🏠/📩 👈 😷 👉 🛌/🏠 Having two workflows in A&E - emergency medicine (EM) and specialties - require a basic understanding of how each workflow contributes to performance. This can get really complex data-wise - but it doesn't have to. There are 3️⃣ fresh ways to look at this, with only a slight adjustment to existing metrics. ☝️, ✌️ & 🖖 fresh ways to look at existing metrics: ☝️ Calculate 4h performance with and without specialty caseload - for some trusts the difference can be more than 40%. ✌️ Calculate majors and resus (M&R) occupancy with and without specialty caseload - for some trusts the difference can be more than 90%. 🖖 Split mean time in A&E into: Mean time from arrival to EM disposition (acute referral or discharge) 🏥🚑🚑 👉... 🧑⚕️👉... 📩/🏠 Mean time from acute referral to specialty disposition (admission or discharge) 📩👉... 🧑⚕️👉... 🛌/🏠 Tracking these alternative metrics can give a tremendous perspective of the causes of access and exit block in realtime. This perspective can support escalation, by directing trust resources at the workflow with the most challenge. Similarly, it can also track the effect of an intervention on the targeted workflow, also in realtime. Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT), Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Chris Green, Vickie Stevens, Tom Hughes OBE, Prem Premachandran MBE, Adrian Boyle

Calling all my allied health professional friends! TODAY is the last day to register for The Acutely Injured Knee: Advanced assessment and care course. The course is this Saturday, May 4th at the University of Calgary Sport Medicine Centre (8:30am-5:00pm). The course equips you with practical tools and techniques to streamline your assessment process and approach every acute knee injury with certainty. Tailored for both seasoned professionals and newcomers alike, by the end of the course you will be able to: • Assess knee injuries with an efficient, systematic, and focused approach. • Understand the role of knee alignment and how it affects injury severity & management. • Improve your skill and accuracy with your special tests including the Lachman & Pivot Shift. • Link the history and physical exam to improve clinical reasoning and provide an accurate diagnosis. • Understand & implement short-term management strategies including the need for imaging, bracing, and surgical referrals. • Recognize red flags and exceptions (skeletally immature, tibial plateau fractures, tendon ruptures, etc.). • Interpret and prioritize information for effective decision making. • Improve your patient outcomes by applying what you’ve learned immediately to your clinical practice. If you’re ready to change your approach to acute knee injuries, this is your opportunity to refine your skills and gain confidence in the assessment and primary management of acute knee injuries. https://lnkd.in/eCKJFW6j

Submissions are open through February 28 for the Nudge Unit's 2025 request for proposals! We invite members of the UPenn/Penn Medicine community to submit an idea for a nudge* that can improve care delivery or patient outcomes. Teams whose ideas are selected will have the opportunity to work with the Nudge Unit to design and implement their intervention. Visit the Nudge Unit RFP webpage for more details and to submit your proposal: https://lnkd.in/ey97NVvn *A nudge is a change in the way choices are presented or information is framed that is meant to guide or motivate decision-making

Yesterday, I had an insightful conversation with a colleague about low back pain (LBP) and what to do when patients aren’t improving as expected during their initial treatment plan. His first instinct—one that is quite common—was to emphasize to the patient the importance of adhering to the prescribed plan. While re-education is valuable, this approach can sometimes feel accusatory to patients, even if unintended. It risks making them feel blamed for their lack of progress rather than supported in their recovery. Based on the available research, I shared a different perspective: when a patient isn’t improving after 4 weeks of care, it’s an opportunity to dive deeper, not point fingers. This means conducting a comprehensive re-evaluation, considering imaging if warranted, and collaborating with specialists when needed. It’s essential to work with our patients, not make assumptions about their effort or adherence. A fresh assessment can uncover barriers like an overlooked diagnosis, biomechanical issues, or even psychosocial factors that might be hindering their recovery. And when in doubt, refer out. Our ultimate goal is the patient’s recovery—sometimes that means recognizing when someone else’s expertise is what’s best for them. This approach ensures we provide not only effective care but also a compassionate and patient-centered experience.