There are about 800,000 licensed physicians in the US, and approximately 2 million registered nurses. If only 2% provide significantly substandard care, that's 16,000 physicians and 400,000 nurses.
If dispersed evenly, each state would have 320 problem physicians and 8,000 problem nurses.
Google is beta testing a new search function called Google Scholar. http://scholar.google.com
I tried it out by searching physician credentialing carotid stenting and got a number of excellent resources from published medical journals.
No one knows about, or appreciates, the work I do... We've all heard it said about medical staff service professionals, we may well have even said it ourselves.
I spoke with a media relations expert at my hospital not long ago and mentioned it would be great if we could get some media coverage of our 2005 conference in Phoenix. She responded with the rather sobering statement, "A meeting is seldom newsworthy."
Okay, so what is? Should we even want talk to the media? If so, how? What are the pitfalls? How do we determine whether something is newsworthy?
Can't say I have the answers to those questions. Perhaps some of this blog's contributors will weigh in on the issue.
However, I did find an interesting web site that tackles some of those questions. Check out How to Talk to the News Media at Journalism.org:
http://www.journalism.org/resources/tools/citizens/media.asp?from=citizens
In scanning the healthcare news headlines I came across a couple of interesting developments from the FDA:
The FDA has approved a new high-tech surgical marker, which includes a "smart" label with an integrated passive transponder. The SurgiChip Tag Surgical Marker system is manufactured by SurgiChip Inc., of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. - FDA Press Release
New FDA regulations for Tissue Bank safety become effective in May, 2005 - CNN Report
Rita
Some tort reform advocates say an apology can help doctors avoid malpractice lawsuits, especially when combined with an upfront settlement offer - Yahoo Health / Associated Press Article
The Alaska Association Medical Staff Professionals' Scholarship Fund supports education for officers and members. In 2004 the Scholarship Fund sponsored a member's attendance at the National Association Medical Staff Services Conference in Miami Beach, Florida.
The fundraiser is simple - all you need to do is shop! Click here: http://www.currentfun.com/ and then on the Start Shopping icon. When you place your order, it is shipped directly to you, and 50% of your order total is donated to AKAMSP.
When finished shopping proceed to checkout. There you will be asked what state the organization you're supporting is in. Once you've selected Alaska, you will be asked the name of the organization - Alaska Association Medical Staff Professionals.
Thank you so much for helping AKAMSP meet our fundraising goals - and have fun shopping!
Kim Pakney, CPMSM, CPCS
AKAMSP President
www.msspnexus.com/AH/ah_alaska.htm
Choosing a healthcare provider can be a life or death decision.
No matter what our profession, at some point, we all become healthcare consumers. What information is available to you as a consumer? What data can you get about a specific physician, hospital, or health plan?
A place to start is the MSSPNexus Healthcare News Links - Becoming a Savvy Healthcare Consumer: http://www.msspnexus.com/msspn_links.htm#link0170
A few of the sites charge, most are free. Take a few minutes to investigate what's available to you. It will be time well spent.
Like many of you, I'm always looking for new ways to use technology well. Therefore, I'm "test driving" a Blog.
In my experience, the most successful Medical Staff Services Professionals (MSSPs) take the time to really learn the profession, and are willing to share that knowledge with others.
The primary goal of the MSSPNexus web site has always been to collect, organize, and share useful information with those who work in the challenging field of medical services management.
Perhaps at heart, we are not just Directors, Managers, Coordinators, and Consultants, we are also Teachers.
Welcome to the MSSPNexus Blog. Let's see what we can learn together.
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