Playing with silly putty

There's a med for that

Medications, whether over the counter or prescribed, often remind me of cars. It seems that we're forever trying to frame the next big breakthrough in pharmaceutical research without trying to utilize what's already in front of us by way of other products/industries. Have you ever wondered what current products and medications could actually treat and/or supplement treatment for an ailment or condition in which it was not initially intended for? It's no different than aloe vera on a burn or coke on your car battery. It's a practice called repurposing, something that is growing immensely at our hospital research labs. Investigators are targeting previously unknown benefits and uses for existing products. To give you a random example, the mapping process for repurposing could be as unexpected as prescribing prilosec (traditionally for GERD patients) to athletes to minimize exercise-induced asthma. The benefit (and goal) is to ultimately minimize R&D spending by pharmas, the single-greatest expense for medication costs themselves. This is clearly a major avenue for opportunity... stay tuned.

I think you said...

There may soon be an end to the nightmare of filling out 15 pages of the same shcrap when seeing a new doctor (referral or otherwise). Our team is piloting a new platform, whereby previously defined orders (things that doctors submit with "authorization", such as prescription, physical therapy, etc) are saved as templates for future entries. It remains to be seen whether this will be more beneficial for the provider (as a template) or for the patient (in preventing both adverse treatment and carpel tunnel syndrome from the duplicative forms).

Teach 'em early

My new goal for my Little (mentee) is to teach him the value of a healthy, balanced diet. He currently eats fast food numerous times a week, which is never a good sign for someone so young to fall into this track. The previous myth (and really still holding true in majority of America, sadly) was that every person must always clean their plate... seen sort of like the 'American way'. In the 3 weeks we've known each other, we've talked about eating 6-8 small meals per day, preferably using only small plates as a default limiter. I'm a big believer in education as a form of soft power as opposed to merely telling a kid what they can't do, because even if you tell them what they CANNOT do, how will they ever know what they should do? Andre has never been taught this nor the rationale/benefit of doing so, so this is a short-term goal of mine. Soon enough, we'll be talking it up about what he consumes. Baby steps...

Gimme 6 weeks... weeks?!

After getting my bearings for the first several weeks, I've since started working on a project related to recruitment waste. And while this is somewhat unrelated to my interest(s) in IT/informatics, it's a fantastic opportunity for me to make an immediate impact. Last week I led a quasi-kaizen event for nursing stakeholders. The purpose was to streamline the recruiting process for the dept. Why? It currently takes over 6 weeks just to post a position... post! Talk about quick reflexes... there is much work yet to do but the prelim findings are interesting. It's amazing what happens when you get people together to talk things out.

I've started mentoring a boy in the community as part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program-- we'll call him Andre. It's something I've always wanted to do, so I decided to make it happen. I've only met with him twice yet i've learned so much about myself already. Most notably, appreciation for what I have and the opportunities I've encountered. He's experienced more as a 6th grader than I did as a high schooler; pretty amazing what your surroundings do to you (both of his parents are incarcerated). The highlight of this wknd was his fascination with hybrid cars. He couldn't quite grasp being able to turn on a car with a button OR having a car turn off automatically... blew him away! His curiosity is overflowing, though, that's for sure. I'm looking at how best to channel it for his benefit. Stay tuned...

Boost! Check it out-- a video to continue inspiring you to do good. Talk about passion...

http://www.ted.com/talks/giles_duley_when_a_reporter_becomes_the_story.html

Welcome to the Music City

I never thought music and nature could co-exist outside of Austin but apparently Nashville is from the same breed. Funny enough, the most dangerous thing of it all is that Chuy's is down the street! I've found my "secret" park for what i'd usually say people-watching... except it's sans people. Which is why it's "secret". Well, it's more so because it's downtown and most people live in the burbs. So i have this plush park/gardens all to myself 5 days a week. It's ridiculously nice and includes the state's history with some frilly gardens and a rolling water globe. The view is pretty alright... it's only a straight-on view of the capitol bldg and surrounding lawn. Maybe i'll continue reading there...

Learning the ropes of a new health system always takes time. It's always very interesting to compare different cultures and systems of organizations. I find this to be quite advantageous as i've transitioned across numerous organizations and regions, adapting rather easily to the changing climates. With marathons, music festivals, and various other events year-round, I definitely don't have to look far for things to do.

My brain is on overload with ideas for possible improvements and/or concentrations. I'm continually digesting the opps (stoked!) and will note more on what keeps me roaring in future posts.

Helpful physician review websites

Welcome to the first 'Good to the Last Dot' blog entry!

Because I get this question so often, here are some very useful links (albeit two of many) to use in your future health care exploration…

1. For comparing hospitals

2. For comparing doctors:

www.vitals.com

www.angieslist.com
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

Note that for Vitals.com, I don’t recommend weighting the ratings too heavily, as these are commonly a sound-off for the extremely happy and extremely angry (among your typical selective audience). However, it’s a great reference for reviewing research credentials and industry prominence as you consider potential physicians/procedures. (and FYI, Angie’s List requires a small fee; Vitals.com is free)

For PubMed, you'll be limited to abstracts unless you have academic or research authorization, but it's all still quite useful.

Check back here frequently or follow this page for updates. And feel free to share the link with friends...