The next 2 years will be a time of transition for how vaccines are delivered and paid for in the US- as national policy shifts to the new order under the Affordable Care Act. In the short-term there'll be some transition challenges- but in the long run- it should be easier to keep up our vaccination rates. In [...]
You might have noticed that more and more restaurants and fast food places are starting to put calorie and other nutrition information on their menus. That’s not a coincidence or accident- they’re getting ready for the upcoming menu nutrition labeling requirements in the Affordable Care Act. Section 4205 of the new law requires restaurants with [...]
Every so often- you run into a resource guide that stands above the rest. I discovered one of those a couple of weeks ago when I was at a conference with the people in my job from around the country. It’s called the Guide to Community Preventive Services – and it’s a free resource to [...]
Safeguarding the public’s health is more important than ever. Whether the threat is a disease outbreak, environmental hazard or natural disaster, the public health system works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to keep Arizonans safe. Each year, the CDC evaluates state and local public health preparedness programs in a detailed report. This [...]
When I was a kid, it seemed like everyone walked to and from school. Today, less than 15% of students walk or bike to school. Walking and biking to school is a great way to help students arrive at school energized and ready to learn – it also helps them reach the recommended 60 minutes [...]
Prescription drugs serve a very important purpose in health care, when they’re used the right way. That’s why physicians have to write the prescriptions – doctors who are trained to understand the purpose of the medication as well as the patient’s tolerance and the possibility of interactions. However, too many times, we keep medication after [...]
We just found out that AZ had 3 oral abstracts accepted (including the #1 scored abstract) for this year’s National Association of EMS Physicians meeting. Of the 208 abstracts submitted, only 15 were selected for oral presentations. We get to do 3 because AZ submitted 3 of the top 15 scored abstracts. Our Statewide Cardiac Receiving Center abstract was the [...]
Back in 2006 we funded a web based "hub and spoke" telemedicine system with tobacco tax funds to link up small rural and undeserved hospitals with a Primary Stroke Center (Mayo Clinic Arizona) which can give expert advice on how to best treat acute stroke patients at the rural hospitals (also called spoke hospitals). We’re [...]
The Acting Deputy Director of Behavioral Health gives a great overview of the Division and its mission in his blog today. Take a look and bookmark the site for future news.
Our regulatory reform effort in Licensing is rolling along. We’ve already held rules work group meetings with representatives from behavioral health inpatient and residential facilities and are incorporating the Stakeholder comments into our next iteration of our draft rules. In November, we’ll start holding rules work group meetings with representatives from behavioral health outpatient settings. This’ll truly [...]
