In this episode, Dr. Jeffrey Varnell, a former surgeon and risk management consultant, reflects back on things physicians wished they would have learned during their medical residencies and when they first started their practice. In particular, he talks about effectively utilizing professional review, onboarding and managing expectations around a practice’s policies and procedures (from billing to EHRs), the importance of peer support and mentorship, and the benefits of creating a “toolkit” to help new physicians integrate into the practice setting.    Show email: wnlpodcast@copic.co ..read more

The episode’s guest is Chanda Hinton, the founder and executive director of the Chanda Plan Foundation, who also helps run the Chanda Center for Health, an organization that helps people living with long-term disabilities through integrative health care. The discussion focuses on looking at health care through a lens of disability and disparity, and how medical providers can help address this. Chanda talks about her organization’s belief that “people living with long-term physical disabilities have the right to create their own healthcare path, live independently, and be active members in comm ..read more

This episode is part of a special series that focuses on organizations that received grant funding from the COPIC Medical Foundation for initiatives that address the issue of reducing fragmentation across care settings. Dr. Zacharias welcomes Arturo Brito, MD, MPH, the President and CEO of Children’s Health Fund. Dr. Brito highlights how the grant was used to support the review, update, and dissemination of the successful Referral Management Initiative to incorporate new technologies that enhance care coordination procedures for pediatric populations living in under-resourced communities. They ..read more

This episode is part of a special series that focuses on organizations that received grant funding from the COPIC Medical Foundation for initiatives that address the issue of reducing fragmentation across care settings. Dr. Zacharias welcomes two guests from the Children’s Hospital Colorado: Jennifer Disabato, a pediatric nurse practitioner, and William Anderson, MD, an Associate Program Director. Ms. Disabati and Dr. Anderson highlight how the grant was used to support the ImPACT Navigation Hub—a centralized resource hub to coordinate the transition of young adult patients with pediatric onse ..read more

This episode is part of a special series that focuses on organizations that received grant funding from the COPIC Medical Foundation for initiatives that address the issue of reducing fragmentation across care settings. Dr. Zacharias welcomes two guests from the Mile High Health Alliance: Dede de Percin, Executive Director, and Vicente Cardona, Program Manager. Dede and Vicente highlight how the grant was used to support the “Orange Flag” Project—an initiative that uses historic, predictive, and real-time data to inform emergency department personnel of a patient’s high utilization of emergenc ..read more

This episode is part of a special series that focuses on organizations that received grant funding from the COPIC Medical Foundation for initiatives that address the issue of reducing fragmentation across care settings. Dr. Zacharias welcomes Olivia Soutullo, a psychologist and Director of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy Services at Children’s National (Washington, D.C.). Olivia highlights how grant funding from the Foundation was used to support a program aimed at improving coordination of pediatric mental care after psychiatric hospitalization. She talks about some of the key challenges fac ..read more

Dr. Dennis Boyle, a COPIC physician consultant and rheumatologist, is the guest on this episode which looks at the issue of treating friends, family, and staff as patients. The discussion looks at the ethical, legal, and other considerations in these types of situations using some case studies and highlighting the American Medical Association’s guidance. In particular, there is the issue of how your professional judgement may be impacted when you have a close, personal relationship with a patient. Dr. Boyle also highlights other concerns that include confidentiality, sensitive examinations, an ..read more

This episode examines patients who present with chest pain and how this can run the full spectrum of being a minor irritation to a more serious condition that requires immediate attention. Dr. Zacharias draws upon his experience in internal medicine to talk about using clinical judgment to work through an assessment. He delves into using a differential diagnosis approach, addressing emergency situations, and evaluating considerations based on a patient’s medical history. In addition, Dr. Zacharias looks at how mental health conditions can influence chest pain and tests to rule in (and rule out ..read more

This episode’s guest is Jody Thomas, PhD, Founder/Chief Executive Officer of The Meg Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to empower families with the pain management strategies, skills, and support they need to prevent and reduce pain. The discussion examines how “fear of needles” and health care avoidance can develop in early childhood, and what strategies can be implemented—by parents and medical providers—to prevent negative associations with medical care. Thomas highlights some best practices for pain management with children, such as over-the-counter numbing creams and comforting tec ..read more

Our guest for this episode is Dr. Dan Rosenquist, a family medicine physician in Nebraska and risk manager for COPIC. The focus is on Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis, which are commonly caused by medications or infections and typically present as skin reactions. Dr. Rosenquist walks through the causes and symptoms to be aware of, the role of certain medications in this condition, and discussing the issue with patients. The conversation also touches on having a high index of suspicion, particularly early in its presentation, as the findings may be subtle or confused with ..read more