By Leandro Slipczuk MD, PhD, FACC, Section Head of Clinical Cardiology and Director of Advanced Cardiac Imaging, Montefiore health system Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is an ongoing epidemic, and atherogenic lipoproteins are one of its root causes. Mostly, first cardiac events occur in asymptomatic individuals, and therefore waiting for symptoms to develop is not a feasible strategy. Risk scores have been developed from the Framingham risk score to the pooled cohort equation (PCE) to estimate the likelihood of a person developing ASCVD over a defined period. However, the ..read more

By Denise Aguilar R.T. (R)(ARRT), B.S. Health Science, Health Science/ Practicum Instructor, San Antonio ISD In March 2020, our nation was hit with a pandemic that caused national and global chaos. There were a lot of unknowns about COVID-19 at the time, and one thing we were not prepared for was the strain on the healthcare systems. The medical professionals on the frontline were working with a limited number of resources while their comrades were falling to the virus itself. This left many healthcare facilities severely short-staffed. It was assumed that working conditions and staffing shor ..read more

By Jennifer Hillman, MBA, PharmD, Director, Inpatient Pharmacy Services, University Health System Automation has been a part of pharmacy practice for decades. However, complex compounding robotics are less common and under continuous development to meet pharmacy demands. Reasons for lower adoption rates include high cost, product complexity, speed and product limitations. Before considering the purchase of a robot, the pharmacy should have thorough knowledge of product functionality and comfort with outcomes. I’m highlighting these expectations for improved decision-making. Personnel Pharmacy ..read more

Healthcare Fueled by Technology By Ainsley MacLean, MD, CMIO & Associate Medical Director for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Kaiser Permanente|Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group TECHNOLOGY SCENARIO #1: INSTANT SCREENING MAMMOGRAM RESULTS A woman undergoes a mammogram on a state-of-the-art 3D mammogram machine. The high-resolution images are transmitted via a network of high-speed cables where they are read on 5MP monitors by a highly trained radiologist physician covering clinical services across multiple states seamlessly in her home. The radiologist’s report is filed into a ..read more

By David Hughes, Chief Pharmacy Officer, Insight Hospital and Medical Center Chicago & Insight Surgical Hospital Michigan Pharmacy is one of the most highly regulated professions in the US and its management is complex. Pharmacy’s impact on public health and safety is vast as the profession includes professional/clinical practice standards in addition to pharmacy facility and product standards. There are many different types of pharmacies that vary widely in their operations. Some different types of pharmacies include community (outpatient), hospital (inpatient), specialty, nuclear, infus ..read more

By Mark Sullivan, Associate Chief Pharmacy Officer, Vanderbilt University Hospital & Clinics Today’s health system pharmacy leaders face a myriad of challenges related to using technology in pharmacy practice. Strategic planning for capital support for larger systems has become a part of long-term financial planning as lead times for capital acquisition to support technology replacement on a ten to fifteen-year life cycle is required to maintain effective systems. Electronic healthcare record (EHR) vendors are advancing in their support of pharmacy, but key areas such as sterile products ..read more

By Andrea Reed, VP of Pharmacy, Novant Health Artificial intelligence (AI) is the development of computer systems to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, using various inputs of data and generally involving deep learning, decision-making, visual perception, and natural language processing (NLP). Healthcare is one of the largest industries using AI, with many new companies starting or shifting to focus on this space. Some benefits of integrating AI into workflows include decreasing time and costs to deliver value, supporting and enhancing the expertise of healthcare profess ..read more

By Sebastian Hamilton, Chief Pharmacy Officer, Boston Medical Center An IT infrastructure build and integrity strategy; a favorable quantifiable clinical outcome strategy; a new business opportunity for considerable growth strategy; etc., no matter the area of focus, they all have the same intent and purpose as any well thought-out strategy; to take action on a conceived idea or initiative and charge established work streams to develop and execute a specific defined plan towards a desired favorable outcome. A pharmacy management strategy is no different. There are few recommendations of best ..read more

By Jane Turlo, Executive Director Ambulatory Imaging, Providence Clinical Network Hearing those words can be a blessing or thrust you into panic mode, and with the changes in our world over the last three years, leaders are hearing them more and more. One of the most spotlighted areas in the work unit has been finding, attracting, and retaining top talent. Once you find top talent, how can you ensure a lasting employee-employer relationship? The answers come in many forms, such as compensation, schedules, education, but I believe the main driver is leadership engagement.    Engageme ..read more

By Doug Graham, Director of Enterprise Data Governance, Mercy Health While introducing data governance to a provider onboarding summit, I asked the question, “What do you think of when you hear the term Data Governance?” The response… “run the other way!” By the end of the presentation, the teams were relating to the “purpose” of data governance… It seeks to break down organizational barriers that lead to silos who work independently and don’t “trust” their peers from other business units as it relates to the data. It aims to involve the community of professionals who share common data subj ..read more