For Healthcare Providers - Archive

Public Health Liaison Program
Keisa Hoffpauir, MPA
District Public Health Liaison
229-430-4180
kghoffpauir@dhr.state.ga.us

For many years, state monies have helped fund Public Health’s adult vaccine program. Recently, the program’s funding has experienced major changes, which will have a significant impact on adult immunizations provided at the 14 county health departments in Southwest Health District and all of Georgia.

Report: Cancer declining in both men and women For the first time ever, total cancer diagnoses and deaths are decreasing in both U.S. men and women, according to the latest annual report by the nation's leading cancer organizations. The overall cancer diagnoses, or incidence, rate decreased 0.8% per year from 1999 through 2005, largely due to declines in prostate, lung and colorectal cancer in men and breast and colorectal cancer in women. The cancer rate for men dropped 1.8% per year from 2001-2005 while the rate for women fell 0.6% per year from 1998-2005. In addition, the overall cancer death rate decreased from 1996-2005 for both men and women and nearly all racial and ethnic groups. The report, in the Dec. 2 Journal of the National Cancer Institute, calls the trends “highly encouraging," adding that sustaining them will require continued improvements in prevention, early detection and treatment. http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/pressreleases/ReportNation2008Release

Hospitals collaborate to improve heart care, reduce disparities All 10 hospitals participating in a pilot program to improve cardiac care while reducing racial and ethnic disparities achieved that result, according to a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Among other improvements, participants in the Expecting Success collaborative increased the proportion of patients receiving all recommended care for heart failure by 37% over two years. Lessons learned from the program have been compiled into a toolkit offering detailed guidance to other hospitals nationwide. Among other resources, hospitals in the program used a toolkit developed by AHA’s Health Research and Educational Trust affiliate to guide hospitals through the process of collecting data on patients’ race, ethnicity and primary language.
Report:
http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/expectingsuccessfinalreport.pdf
Toolkit:
http://www.hretdisparities.org/

5 Myths About Our Ailing Health-Care System Shannon Brownlee and Ezekiel Emanuel, Washington Post, 11/23/08 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/20/AR2008112002420.html?nav=hcmodule

The Searle Patients in Need Foundation
The foundation will provide free medication for the indigent. Physicians should request information on getting the prescription medications and program requirements. For more information, call (800) 542-2526. Ongoing deadline.

The State of Georgia and Together RX Access announce landmark co-promotion to improve prescription access for uninsured Georgians
It's easy for eligible people to enroll in Together Rx Access(r), the free program that offers prescription savings on hundreds of brand-name products. In fact, about 10,000 people enroll every week. The simple application process, in both English and Spanish, allows eligible people to quickly sign up for a Together Rx Access Card so they can begin saving on their prescription medicines immediately.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Sercives (CMS) will conduct a national "dry run" of the implementation of the 30-day HF readmission measure. The dry run is designed to educate hospitals about the HF readmission measure and to test the public reporting process. As with the dry run results for AMI, HF, and PN mortality measures, the HF readmission dry run results will not be publicly reported.

In addition, CMS will conduct a 30-day public question and comment period this month, during which hospitals can ask questions and provide comments. CMS invites you to join a national teleconference regarding the HF readmission measure with guest speakers: Dr. David Nilasena and Dr. Harlan Krumholz. This national teleconference will be held: Monday, September 15, 2008 at 1:00 p.m. ET

The purpose of the teleconference is to:

• Provide a brief overview of the HF readmission measure calculation methodology
• Highlight the logistics of the national dry run and the resources available on the QualityNet Web site
• Review the type of data included in the hospital-specific reports (HSRs)
• Answer questions about the measure methodology, HSRs, and dry run process Call-in information along with presentation materials will be posted on the QualityNet Web site prior to the teleconference. A recording of the call will be made available for download on QualityNet following the presentation.

2008 National Health Insurer Report Card
A wealth of reliable and defensible critical metrics regarding the accuracy, timeliness and transparency of claims processing by health insurance companies is only a mouse-click away. Southwest Health District is proud to post the American Medical Association’s 2008 National Health Insurer Report Card at the link below. While the report card is intended for informational purposes only, it affords physicians and payers with an instrument they can use in the fight to reduce the cost of claims administration to 1 percent of collections. Additional information is available at the AMA’s Practice Management Center Web Site. Visit www.ama-assn.org/go/cureforclaims and click on the “Cure for Claims” campaign.
2008 National Health Insurer Report Card

FDA issues warning on Cipro, similar antibiotics By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer
Federal drug safety officials have imposed the government's most urgent warning on Cipro and similar antibiotics, citing risks that they can cause tendon ruptures, a serious injury that leaves some patients incapacitated. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday ordered makers of flouroquinolone drugs - a potent class of antibiotics - to add a 'black box' warning to their products, which include Cipro, Levaquin, Floxin and other medications. Patients should immediately stop taking the medications if they develop any tendon pain, swelling or inflammation.

PHS issues clinical guideline for smoking cessation.
The U.S. Public Health Service today issued an updated clinical practice guideline to help health care providers reduce patients’ use of tobacco. The guideline recommends clinicians and health care delivery systems consistently identify tobacco users seen in the health care setting, and offer every patient who uses tobacco some of the treatments recommended in the guideline. It also recommends insurers cover the counseling and medications identified as effective. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/tobacco/treating_tobacco_use08.pdf . A companion consumer guide and pocket guide for clinicians are available here:  http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/tobacco/default.htm

New AMA program helps physicians talk to patients about healthy behavior
A recent AMA survey found that two-thirds of patients want their physician to talk to them about good health behaviors. This week, the AMA launched the Healthier Life Steps program-a comprehensive online toolkit, including patient screening checklists, intervention plans and motivational tools-to ignite greater discussion among patients and physicians about healthy lifestyle choices. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/18471.html

Cultural Competency in Healthcare:
A Clinical Review and Video Vignettes From the National Medical Association CME/CEMedscape 4/30/08
http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/12540?src=mp=17=70149SJ