Orlando Health Care News

pubhealth: The radically simple Uniject™ injection...

Sun, 12 May 2013 22:43:21 -0400

The radically simple Uniject™ injection system

Rethinking the needle to extend the reach of lifesaving vaccines and medications

What if syringes were so easy to use that even untrained health workers could give injections without the risk of error?

What if vaccines for developing countries could be prepackaged in low-cost prefilled syringes, vastly reducing the amount of vaccine wasted?

What if syringes could not be reused—and we knew for certain that gateway to HIV transmission was closed?

The Uniject™ autodisable injection system (Uniject), born in PATH’s Seattle shop, is little more than a small bubble of plastic attached to a needle, but it answers all these needs. It is so simple that health workers can learn to use it after less than two hours of training. It cannot be reused, which eliminates one route of disease transmission. And it is precisely prefilled by the pharmaceutical producers with a single dose, which ensures that the correct amount of drug is delivered and that none is discarded unnecessarily.

PATH developed Uniject with funding from the US Agency for International Development and then licensed the system to BD, the largest syringe manufacturer in the world. As part of the licensing agreement, BD supplies the Uniject system to pharmaceutical producers at preferential prices for use in developing-country programs. Developing Uniject and bringing it to market has been a 20-year endeavor.

Originally developed for use with vaccines, Uniject now promises to extend the reach of other lifesaving drugs as well as contraception.

Uniject is a trademark of BD.

(From PATH)

http://www.path.org/our-work/uniject.php

pubhealth: Tobacco’s Shifting Burden: From the Rich to the...

Sat, 04 May 2013 12:09:45 -0400

pubhealth:

Tobacco’s Shifting Burden: From the Rich to the Poor

Doctors and researchers meeting in São Paulo, Brazil, last week issued a dire warning. Latin America, they said, is at risk of being overwhelmed by a burgeoning cancer epidemic.

One cause of concern is the prevalence of smoking in the region. “Unless these high rates of smoking are curtailed, cancer mortality rates will continue to rise,” said Harvard Medical School Professor Paul Goss, lead author of a new Lancet Oncology study about cancer prevention in Latin America.

His statements about Latin America hold true elsewhere. In our December 2012 series, “Cancer’s New Battleground – the Developing World,” we showed that cancer isn’t just a rich-world disease. It’s a disease that’s also taking a heavy toll in the poorest countries. In fact, some cancers – including cervical, stomach, and liver – hit developing populations especially hard, and one cancer is well on its way to becoming a leading cause of death in the developing world: lung cancer.

(From PRI)

HIV 'cure' looks 'promising,' Danish scientists contend

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:10:24 -0400

HIV 'cure' looks 'promising,' Danish scientists contend

pubhealth: Look How Quickly the U.S. Got Fat (1985-2010...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 18:57:59 -0400

pubhealth:

Look How Quickly the U.S. Got Fat (1985-2010 Animated Map)

25 brief, delicious year.

(From The Atlantic)

pubhealth: U.S. Health Costs vs. The World: Is It Still The...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:46:59 -0400

pubhealth:

U.S. Health Costs vs. The World: Is It Still The Prices, and Are We Still Stupid?

Comparing health care prices in the U.S. with those in other developed countries is an exercise in sticker shock.

The cost of a hospital day in the U.S. was, on average, $4,287 in 2012. It was $853 in France, a nation often lauded for its excellent health system and patient outcomes but with a health system that’s financially strapped…

(From Healthpopuli.com)

the-progressive-opinion:

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 20:40:57 -0400

the-progressive-opinion:

An H.I.V. Strategy Focuses on Drug Addicts in Vancouver

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:48:00 -0400

An H.I.V. Strategy Focuses on Drug Addicts in Vancouver:

phaflacina:

thirdbeatred:

I love you, Canada.

Paradoxical purpose… on one hand, I am happy there are public health officials trying to assure those who do drugs are HIV-negative; however, I wish there were some sort of education mixed into the efforts regarding drug use. Alas, start with small initiatives…

“Because antiretroviral medications lower the amount of virus in the blood, those taking them are estimated to be 90 percent less infective.”

nprglobalhealth: Will Some Tiny — But Potent— Foes Benefit From...

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 13:11:18 -0500

nprglobalhealth:

Will Some Tiny — But Potent— Foes Benefit From Sequestration?

There’s been a lot of discussion recently about how the U.S. sequestration will impact funding for public health, both here in the U.S. and worldwide.

The Washington Post’s World Views blog speculated on how “people living with TB, AIDS and malaria in developing countries would be impacted by the 5.3 percent across-the-board funding cut:”

HIV/AIDS treatment for 171,900 people would not be available, potentially leading to 39,200 more AIDS-related deaths

1.2 million fewer insecticide-treated mosquito nets would be procured; 2 million fewer people would receive treatment.

37,400 fewer people with TB would receive treatment, 200 fewer people with multidrug-resistant TB would get treatment.

836,800 fewer pentavalent vaccines for children would be available, potentially leading to 8,900 more deaths from preventable diseases.

To bring attention to this issue, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Matt Davies recently drew a cartoon, titled “Sick,” in collaboration with the non-profit The ONE Campaign,

Here’s what Davies said motivated him to create the cartoon:

A decade of genuine progress in preventing and controlling the proliferation of preventable, lethal diseases among the most vulnerable populations within developing nations (aka: women and children) will literally be devastated by across-the-board budget sequestration. Not many people know that.

Cartoon courtesy of Matt Davies.

Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 11:05:54 -0500

Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us:

A lengthy but interesting article from TIME Magazine About nonprofit hospitals and how much money they make at the expense of The most vulnerable Americans

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 12:39:55 -0500

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food

Smoking deadlier for HIV infected patients than virus itself

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:51:52 -0500

Smoking deadlier for HIV infected patients than virus itself

HIV and cholesterol: Understanding the basics

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 15:10:19 -0400

At work last week we had a delightful speaker from Merck, a company who manufactures a couple of HIV drugs (and many other drugs). She passed out a helpful brochure on cholesterol and HIV. Here are the highlights:

Basics on cholesterol: It’s a soft, waxy substance in blood, and it comes in “good” HDL form and “bad” LDL form. Triglycerides (TG) are also a fatty substance in blood. HDL, LDL, and TG levels are determined by family history, diet, smoking, and exercise among other things.
The HIV virus and some HIV treatments may increase cholesterol levels, and this may lead to health problems. Suggestions to manage cholesterol without drugs: eat a low-fat diet, stop smoking, exercise, and limit alcohol consumption.
Many HIV service organizations have access to nutritionists and a team of health care professionals to assist clients with managing cholesterol levels. Be sure to ask your doctor how HIV treatment will alter cholesterol levels. Visit www.heart.org for information on cholesterol, or google “HIV and cholesterol” for more info.
HDL, LDL, and TG levels are monitored regularly by a HIV positive person’s health care team, usually every 3 months when blood is drawn for labs.

quotevadis: “A society grows great when old men plant trees...

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 14:47:23 -0400

quotevadis:

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in.”

— Greek proverb

pubhealth: Medicaid: Its Role Today and Under the Affordable...

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 14:35:24 -0400

pubhealth:

Medicaid: Its Role Today and Under the Affordable Care Act

(From JAMA)

Orlando area hospitals face $7.3 million Medicare penalty

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 19:09:54 -0400

This week there’s an article in the Orlando Business Journal outlining upcoming cuts in Medicare reimbursements for local hospitals. Why the reimbursement cuts? Medicare patients are ending up back in the hospital too soon. Penalties are imposed for patient re admissions within one month of initial discharge, and Central Florida hospitals are particularly hard hit with re admissions for heart attacks, heart failure, and pneumonia.

Penalties are starting small but will double each year for at least the next three years, which could put hospitals at further financial risk and provide incentives to educate patients and to make sure they are adherent to their recovery regimens after discharge.

Orlando Health, for example, is getting 0.92 cents of every Medicare dollar due to re-admission penalties, and Florida Hospital’s percentage is even higher. This may not seem like much, but these penalties add up to an estimated $4.47 million for Florida Hospital and $1.8 million for Orlando Health and these numbers are expected to grow.

How it works: The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services measures how many of each hospital’s patients admitted for heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia end up back in the hospital within a month of leaving. Data is collected over a given period and plugged into a formula that determines the hospital’s penalty.

Nationwide 2,211 hospitals face losing $280 million. Hospitals are penalized even when a patient re admission within 1 month is unrelated to the first visit.

Orlando Health has been able to drop re admissions by 12 per cent, and expects the penalties to grow smaller in the coming years. They’ve increased the number of medical case managers, who make sure patients are educated, adherent, and learn how to navigate the health care system, increasing patient empowerment and self-sufficiency. This should lead to improved patient outcomes.

A Focus on quality of life that is transforming health care

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 13:42:45 -0400

How to improve patient outcomes, reduce hospitalizations, and get patients to use less medication? Per an article in the Wall Street Journal by Laura Landro, the solution lies in focusing on the patient’s quality of life.

In the February Issue of Population Health Management, a study found that higher self-reported well-being was associated with fewer hospitalizations, ER visits and medication use- and concluded that efforts to improve well-being are a promising approach to reduce future health-care use and spending.

Targeted approaches to care that address how people feel about their condition and overall well-being outside the doctor’s office are showing real results. Nurses, case managers, peer educators, and other health professionals meet with clients and ask questions like: Is your condition inhibiting your life? Is it making you less happy? How difficult is it for you to cope every day?

The goal with these services is to make patients more adherent, more educated, offer them needed support and help them to better navigate the health care system, with the eventual goal of self-sufficiency. This in turn leads to a reduction in per capita health care expenditures and an improved quality of life.

The logic is simple. People are more likely to manage their condition properly when they have more accessible, personal goals like being able to do more at work or keep up with their kids, rather than solely focusing on the clinical aspects of their illness such as blood sugar levels or white blood cell counts. If a patient can be shown for a period of time how much adherence to a treatment plan and education can benefit their quality of life, they are much more likely to improve.

A treatment strategy focusing on quality of life has been shown as particularly effective in patients with chronic illness, which eats up 75% of the $2.6 trillion the U.S. currently spends annually on health care.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks...

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 14:00:00 -0400

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks at the 2012 International AIDS Conference at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC on July 23, 2012. I’ve always had a deep respect for Secretary of State Clinton. She is an excellent speaker with incredible communication skills, extremely intelligent but able to articulate her thoughts effectively to the common man.

I’ve always like Soledad O’Brien. Tuesday she...

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 18:38:00 -0400

I’ve always like Soledad O’Brien. Tuesday she interviewed John Sununu, former New Hampshire Governor and George W. Bush’s Chief of Staff, and the topic was claims against the President on Medicare. Kudos to her fact-checking ability and excellent journalism. This material also includes some great quick-and-dirty facts on the Affordable Care Act and Medicare.

Here’s a link to a Huffington Post blog on their discussion:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-ostroy/soledad-interview-journalism-school_b_1778181.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=1058636,b=facebook

This has the potential to be the best volunteer gig ever

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 14:52:34 -0400

Over the years I’ve volunteered for a wide variety of organizations: The Special Olympics, a school for the blind, Habitat for Humanity, the Alliance Francaise, GLBCC in Orlando, a hospital Trauma Department, the Coalition for the Homeless, and the Orange County Health Department are a few of them. I’ve always had a passion for helping other people and I love to see the tangible benefits of my efforts.

Due to my recent job I’ve had to pare down (at least for now) my volunteer gigs to just one, but it’s a good one: I’m currently serving on a Quality Management Committee for the Orange County Health Department’s Infectious Disease Group.

This group focuses on process and quality improvement - what better opportunity to improve the quality of health care? This month’s meeting focused on an overview of measurement and data in quality improvement, and on sampling patient records, designing a data collection plan, and on collecting data.

Useful info on quality improvement as it specifically relates to HIV care can be found at http://nationalqualitycenter.org/ .

I really think this group will be a great opportunity to improve patient outcomes through estimating available resources, making accurate predictions, aiding in strategic planning, evaluating the effectiveness of existing systems, learning from historical patterns, and creating a dialogue among providers (both clinical and non-clinical).

Outcomes from this committee have the potential to streamline processes and improve patient wait times, reduce costs, and increase client satisfaction.

I look forward to being an active member of this committee, learning a lot, and being able to have a real part in improving health care in the Orlando area.

Jon

goodideapublichealth: This is Public Health The campaign This...

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 14:08:58 -0400

goodideapublichealth:

This is Public Health

The campaign This is Public Health aims to increase awareness about what Public Health is and how it affects our lives daily.

You can order stickers in many languages to create your own campaign and label things that are Public Health for you.