Geisinger Health System: Achieving the Potential of System Integration Through Innovation, Leadership, Measurement, and Incentives

Presents a case study of a physician-led nonprofit healthcare group exhibiting the attributes of an ideal healthcare delivery system as defined by the Fund. Describes how its ProvenCare model improved clinical outcomes with reduced resource utilization

Mayo Clinic: Multidisciplinary Teamwork, Physician-Led Governance, and Patient-Centered Culture Drive World-Class Health Care

Describes Fund-defined attributes of an ideal care delivery system, Mayo's model of multidisciplinary practice with salary-based compensation, and best practices, including a shared electronic health record and innovations to implement research quickly

Double strength, maximum gain: optimising student learning via collaborative partnerships @ QUT

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) demonstrates a commitment to lifelong learning and strives to foster graduates who can function as competent professionals. In response, the University identifies a number of generic capabilities which all students should gain during the course of their study, the development of which has been undertaken as a shared responsibility by teaching staff and centralised academic-related support staff. It is within this context that QUT's teaching and learning support services (TALSS) and the library assumes responsibility for facilitating the development of information literacy and technology literacy. TALSS and the library have collaboratively developed and implemented a range of teaching and learning strategies and initiatives. This paper highlights a number of these initiatives. These initiatives are also supported by a network of specialists such as liaison librarians, student computing advisors, a transition officer and an information literacy coordinator

Compliance, normality, and the patient on peritoneal dialysis

Monitoring and enhancing patient compliance with peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a recurring and problematic theme in the renal literature. A growing body of literature also argues that a failure to understand the patient's perspective of compliance may be contributing to these problems. The aim of this study was to understand the concept of compliance with PD from the patient's perspective. Using the case study approach recommended by Stake (1995), five patients on PD consented to in-depth interviews that explored the meaning of compliance in the context of PD treatment and lifestyle regimens recommended by health professionals. Participants also discussed factors that influenced their choices to follow, disregard, or refine these regimens. Results indicate that health professionals acting in alignment with individual patient needs and wishes, and demonstrating an awareness of the constraints under which patients operate and the strengths they bring to their treatment, may be the most significant issues to consider with respect to definitions of PD compliance and the development of related compliance interventions. Aspects of compliance that promoted relative normality were also important to the participants in this study and tended to result in greater concordance with health professionals' advice

Understanding gender and its relation to the philosophy of personal identity

The aim of this thesis is to establish that there is no metaphysical account of personal identity that requires us to regard gender as essential to our identities. I shall begin by examining forms of essentialism as well as rejections of essentialism, relating these theories to the issue at hand. Secondly, I shall evaluate the social existence of gender and the impact it has upon individual lives and communities. I shall go on to evaluate psychological accounts of identity to determine how gender adheres with understandings of personal identity as a psychological continuity. I will then look to the antithesis of such views and examine physiological accounts of identity, again relating these to the issues of gender. Finally, I shall compare what each of these theories tells us about the existence of gender in our lives and conclude that gender is a social construct, and that since no legitimate metaphysical account of identity encourages belief in gender essentialism, harmful prevalent attitudes to gender within society are ultimately irrational

Childhood Anxiety, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and/or Pharmacological Treatment

Objective: Evaluate best practice in managing anxiety in the pediatric population, including both school age children and adolescents. This literature review compared pharmacological treatment and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)’s effectiveness on the management of anxiety within the pediatric population. Background: Up to 25% of children in the United States are affected by a mental health disorder, anxiety being the most prevalent. Childhood anxiety can have a distressing impact on social, family, and academic functioning. If persisting into adulthood it increases the risk of developing other co-occurring mental health conditions, substance abuse issues, and contributes to impaired employment retention and socioeconomic burden. Addressing anxiety early has shown to have a lasting positive effect that carries forward into adulthood. Method: Five databases were selected to yield the highest levels of evidence. Key words from the clinical question were searched which generated the most prevalent hits. Sixty-five studies were identified, 16 were duplicates. Of the 49 studies reviewed, 22 met the inclusion criteria. A literature review of the 22 studies was conducted and synthesized. Results: The combination of CBT and pharmacotherapy are far superior for pediatric anxiety than either treatment alone. Individually, CBT is more effective than pharmacotherapy with a longer lasting benefit and should be offered to all children with anxiety. Children with severe anxiety should utilize both CBT and pharmacotherapy as together they improve the likelihood of response and remission

The North Dakota Experience: Achieving High-Performance Health Care Through Rural Innovation and Cooperation

Explores how North Dakota has met the healthcare challenges of rural communities with support for primary care and the idea of a medical home, organization of care through coordination and cooperation networks, and the innovative use of technology

How the Trauma-Informed Approach Can Help Treat Substance Use Disorders

People who experience trauma- especially Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)- are at an elevated risk for substance use disorders, mental illness, and physical disorders. Trauma-informed care (TIC) is an evidence-based approach to deliver healthcare in a way that recognizes and responds to the long-term health effects of the experience of trauma. In the 2014 Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) 57, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) addressed trauma-related prevention, screening, assessment, intervention, and treatment issues and strategies, providing a framework for organizations that wanted to take a trauma informed approach. Upon completion of this webinar, participants will be able to: Explain the connection between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Substance Use Disorders; Describe promising practices for implementing the trauma-informed care approach; and Consider how trauma-informed care might work in your organization

Uncovering the methadone counseling process among recovering and non recovering chemical dependency counselors

The purpose of this study was to uncover the methadone counseling process among recovering and non-recovering chemical dependency counselors by examining the concepts and techniques utilized throughout the counseling process. This study examined whether the recovery status of a counselor affected the counselor\u27s theoretical addiction model and the concepts and techniques that were utilized throughout the counseling process