Preventive Services Widget for Clinicians
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 and can be searched by [...]
The 5th “Vital Sign” & the Painkiller Epidemic (Part V of V)
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 and other sectors have been [...]
Forensic Campus Hits the Mark
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 - especially folks working in Direct [...]
Public Health & the Panama Canal
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. One reason for the delay [...]
Smokeless Tobacco Causes Cancer Too
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 using chew in Arizona has [...]
Healthy Aging Brief
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.