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Teaming Up Against Type 2 Diabetes
Hillary Clinton once famously said, "It takes a village."
In Tennessee, however, Gov. Phil Bredesen knows that sometimes what you really need is a team.
Concerned about the state's consistently poor showing on national health rankings — many of which have direct ties to lifestyle choices — Bredesen recently announced several new initiatives to turn the tide on type 2 diabetes and get the state moving.
BY CINDY SANDERS |
AMA Pushes for Payment Reform
The American Medical Association (AMA) reports it is still hot on the trails of Congress to replace the flawed Medicare physician payment formula, which if not changed, will cut physician payments by about 5 percent on Jan. 1, 2007, with cuts totaling nearly 40 percent through 2015. It's also pushing Congress to eliminate counter productive administrative burdens and unfunded mandates.
BY GLORIA BUTLER BALDWIN |
Business and Science Intersect at Fourth Annual Musculoskeletal Conference
For the fourth year, Memphis hosted the Annual Musculoskeletal New Ventures Conference, which was held Oct. 10-11 at the FedEx Institute of Technology located on the University of Memphis campus.
Organized and hosted by MB Venture Partners, the conference was intended to connect minds with money to further investment in developing biotechnologies.
BY KAREN OTT MAYER |
The West Clinic Opens Singapore Center
In a joint venture with Excellence Healthcare in Singapore, Memphis-based The West Clinic, renowned for its community-based, comprehensive approach to cancer research and treatment, has announced its opening of The West Clinic Excellence Cancer Center in the Southeast Asia hub.
Not only will the center provide comprehensive multidisciplinary treatments for cancer, but it will do so with the aid of United States experts in oncology research and treatment and with state-of-the-art technology such as positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT).
BY GLORIA BUTLER BALDWIN |
Automated Billing Can Increase Revenue
While doctors across the country are feeling the agony of expenses that slash their revenues, California-based Healthcare Business Services Groups, Inc. (HBSGI), has found something to ease the pain.
HBSGI has launched AutoMed® automated medical billing suite, which helps take a big bite out of operating costs and increases revenue.
BY GLORIA BUTLER BALDWIN |
BCBST Expands Electronic Enrollment Program
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) has announced enhancements to the Caremark® Rx, Inc. iScribe® electronic prescribing program. The goal is to enroll 250 new BCBS network physicians who write more than 1,000 prescriptions per year.
Since the iScribe program first offered the free software to physicians in 2004, 60 Tennessee physicians have come on board and are prescribing meds with handheld devices.
BY GLORIA BUTLER BALDWIN |
Vandy Receives Funds For Preemie Research
The BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation has donated a four-year, $2.48 million grant to Vanderbilt for research on how to prevent premature births.
The Tennessee Department of Health reports the death rate for premature babies was 44.7 per 1,000, compared to 3.0 per 1,000 for normal gestation babies, in 2004. For premature babies the infant mortality rate was 78.8 per 1,000 for black, versus 32.9 for white.
by GLORIA BUTLER BALDWIN |
Drs. Kashif Latif and Shazia Hussain
In many ways, Dr. Kashif Latif is on a journey.
Originally from Pakistan, Latif came to Memphis for a very important reason.
"I followed her," he said with a laugh, while pointing to his wife, Shazia.
BY KAREN OTT MAYER |
The Endocrine Clinic Chosen as Second Site for Exciting New Trial
The Endocrine Clinic in Memphis has been chosen as the second study site in the United States to participate in an exciting new clinical trial of MGA031, an anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody developed to treat type 1 diabetes mellitus.
The CD3 mAb trial is an international trial which will begin in November and involve approximately 35 sites across the United States, Europe, Israel and South America.
BY KAREN OTT MAYER |
New Therapies Researched at The Endocrine Clinic
One area of research at The Endocrine Clinic involves inhaled insulin therapies that prevent patients from having to inject insulin. Below are the newest inhibitors which will be studied further at the clinic:
EXUBERA® – Newly released in the United States, this is one of the first inhaled insulin products recently made available to patients.
BY KAREN OTT MAYER |
Healthy Memphis Common Table Forging Ahead, Strong
Since 2003, the Healthy Memphis Common Table has been working to change the culture of Memphians for the better. According to recent studies and statistics from several organizations, including the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Memphians leading poor lifestyles are contributing to the increase in obesity and diabetes.
BY KAREN OTT MAYER |
2006 JDRF Walk Inspires Hearts and Pockets
Once again, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation held its annual Walk to Cure Diabetes — this year's walk was on Oct. 7 at Shelby Farms.
The walk holds the dual purpose of raising funds, but more importantly, recognizing the countless volunteers who work with the organization.
BY KAREN OTT MAYER |
ADA Calls on Congress for Increased Access, Funding
The prevalence of diabetes in America is well documented, and the incidence rate of the disease is growing on an almost daily basis.
Type 2 diabetes, which is typically triggered by poor lifestyle choices, has become a focus of many state and local programs aimed at keeping children and adults active and eating healthy so that they might avoid the disease and its serious co-morbid complications.
BY CINDY SANDERS |
CLiRpath Offers Weapon Against Unnecessary Amputations
Diabetes is a cruel disease that takes a systemic toll on those who are diagnosed with the chronic illness. One common complication is peripheral arterial disease (PAD), in which plaque blocks arteries in the small vessels of the foot and leg and can ultimately lead to lower limb amputation.
BY CINDY SANDERS |
St. Jude Program Designed to Explain Lifelong Effects of Childhood Cancer
When a child has cancer, the foremost concern is curing the disease.
Thirty-five years ago, most childhood cancer patients died, but thanks to medical advancements, upwards of 75 percent are becoming long-term survivors.
As long-term survivorship has increased, so have the risks of future health conditions for these survivors.
BY HOLLI W. HAYNIE |
Can Disease Management Programs Save the System?
More than just a healthcare buzzword, disease management is thought by many to be a significant part of the solution to the nation's overburdened health system.
Intuitively, it makes sense. Spend a relatively small amount of money on the front end to manage chronic conditions so that patients avoid complications and hospitalizations that are much more costly on the back end.
BY CINDY SANDERS |
Healthcare's Push-Pull Effect
Healthcare usage in America has somewhat of a push-pull effect.
While there are factors increasing usage on some fronts, there are factors decreasing healthcare utilization on the other.
BY GLORIA BUTLER BALDWIN |
Connecting with Insurers in Real Time
Ask physicians in an independent practice to identify their biggest frustrations, and they will inevitably include "insurance compliance and paperwork" on the list. Checking patient eligibility, submitting clean claims and then waiting for payment all take valuable time and cost big dollars.
BY SHARON H. FITZGERALD |
The Business of Medical Care
When it comes to reading about accounting practices and quality management, physicians are typically and easily lulled into a state of semi-consciousness.
After all, healing the sick is your thing, not developing business strategies.
BY GLORIA BUTLER BALDWIN |
Using VistA to Improve Hospital and Practice Management
While you may have heard of the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA), what you may not know is that enterprising companies are taking the highly successful clinical information technology system and adapting it for use by their healthcare clients. Offering cost-savings and efficiencies, use of the VistA model outside government in both hospitals and physician practices might even be a significant step toward uniform electronic health records, experts say.
BY SHARON H. FITZGERALD |
UT Medical Group Welcomes Specialists In Surgery, Ophthalmology
UT Medical Group, Inc. recently appointed the following physicians to its medical staff:
Dr. Alexander Mathew joined the department of surgery as a specialist in colorectal surgery with an interest in endoscopic and laparoscopic procedures such as transanal endoscopic microsurgery for early rectal lesions.
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