The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recently announced the release of the “ePSS widget” - which provides primary care clinicians and health care teams with timely decision support regarding appropriate screening, counseling, and preventive services for their patients. The tool is based on the current, evidence-based recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force [...]
In Parts I, II, III, and IV of this series we established the acute and growing effects that the opiate painkiller epidemic is having in America, and how it has been driven (in part) by aggressive pain management strategies that were implemented since Pain was identified as the 5th Vital Sign. Since then, public health [...]
A few weeks ago Medical Facilities Licensing conducted a surprise complaint investigation of our Arizona State Hospital’s Forensic Campus. Last week we received notification that no deficiencies were found during the 3-day on-site inspection - which included an in-depth review of policies, procedures, documentation and patient care standards. Congratulations to the entire Forensic Campus team for a job well done - [...]
The Panama Canal celebrates its 100th anniversary this week. Hailed as both a Wonder of the Modern World and a Monument of the Millennium, the Panama Canal has public health, engineering, and laborers to thank for its completion. You may remember from history class that the construction of the Canal took decades longer than anticipated. [...]
Smokeless tobacco has made recent headlines with former MLB players citing their habitual use for their cancer diagnosis, including Tony Gwynn, who recently died after battling salivary gland cancer, and this week, Curt Schilling, who publicly announced his diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma (cancer of the mouth). Both attributed their cancer to their 30+ years of chewing. The percentage of adults [...]
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials recently investigated ways in which public health can support healthy aging. The results are now available in an issue brief that outlines key recommendations to help state health agencies support healthy aging, identify collaborative opportunities, and integrate public health and healthy aging.
In Parts I, II, and III of this series we established the acute and growing effects that the opiate painkiller epidemic is having in America, and how it has been driven (in part) by aggressive pain management strategies that were implemented since Pain was identified as the 5th Vital Sign. Since then, public health and [...]
The Society for Hospital Epidemiology of America and the Infectious Diseases Society of America partnered with several healthcare organizations to publish evidence-based and best practice recommendations for preventing healthcare-associated infections in acute care hospitals. Referred to as the “SHEA Compendium”, these recommendations have served as a cornerstone of infection control and prevention since their publication [...]
One of the key objectives of public health is to assess the cause of disease or bad outcomes so we can design interventions. In order to do that, we need to be able to tell the difference between when something is actually “causing” an outcome and when the exposure or condition is simply “associated” or [...]
Going to college is fun and exciting. As is the case with all life transitions, getting some helpful hints in advance can smooth out the adjustment time and help create a better and healthier outcome. Make it a point to review the following “life coach tips” with your young adult (like I’ve been doing with my [...]
