I’ve always believed that transparency improves the efficiency of any system. Health care costs are no exception- and health care reimbursement costs are probably at the top of the list of systems that could be improved by applying a healthy dose of cost transparency. Today the federal government took a giant step forward when they [...]
Healthcare-Associated infections are a major (often preventable) threat to patient safety. Last week the National and State Healthcare Associated Infections Progress Report expanded on previous reports- detailing progress toward the eliminating healthcare-associated infections. The HAI Progress Report found significant reductions for nearly all infections- including in AZ. Central line-associated bloodstream infections and surgical site infections [...]
Now that the transition to a new Behavioral Health Authority in Maricopa County is underway- we’re turning our attention to bringing integrated care to the rest of the state. We’ll be working hard throughout 2014 to set the course for integrating behavioral health and physical health for folks with a serious mental illness as we [...]
This was a milestone week for our behavioral health program. Tuesday marked the start of our contract with Mercy Maricopa Integrated Care as the regional behavioral health authority in Maricopa County. The transition has gone well this week. Literally 100s of things had to go right in order to have a smooth transition- including Information [...]
In the next few weeks many AZ teens will be attending proms. While proms can have positive memories, the experiences can turn tragic when alcohol is part of the mix. Alcohol impairs judgment… potentially leading to sexual assault, unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and deadly car crashes. Car crashes are the leading cause of death among teens… [...]
The passage of the Farm Bill (the Agricultural Act of 2014) includes some changes and reforms to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps) and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. In Arizona, SNAP benefits help put healthy food on the table for more than one million people each month, with more than half of the benefits going to [...]
If you’re like me, your introduction to Ebola virus came in the 1990s with the bestseller nonfiction thriller The Hot Zone and loosely-based film Outbreak. The descriptions of a deadly hemorrhagic fever that quickly spread through the population were terrifying, as were the life-threatening dangers posed to the intervening infectious disease personnel. The Guinea Ministry [...]
Most of you know that we’ve reached a final agreement with the Plaintiffs in the 32 year-old Arnold vs. Sarn lawsuit. We expect to have a dismissal hearing later this year- which will officially end the Arnold lawsuit. We got some other good news on a different behavioral health case last week. Last Friday marked the [...]
When I heard about what happened to the 4 year old boy that was attacked by a Pit Bull a couple of weeks ago, I asked our public health statistics team to look at our surveillance data and see whether severe dog maulings are really up- or whether it just seems that way. It turns [...]
Once in a while we have a tremendous opportunity for a great leader to join our team, but not very often. We just posted the Assistant Director for Public Health Licensing. The person we’re looking for will be able to take a great team and make it better. This person will be collaborating with partners [...]
