Necessity of Analytics in Today’s Healthcare Revenue Cycle

Because of the recently growing pressures to improve quality and reduce costs, healthcare organizations are rapidly adopting IT in order to improve their operations and clinical care. As a result, an accumulation of vast amounts of data are becoming available for use. It is important for healthcare to use this data. Strome (2010) states that healthcare analytics is the application of statistical tools and techniques to healthcare-related data in order to study past situations (i.e., operational performance or clinical outcomes) to improve the quality and efficiency of clinical and business processes and performance. With the introduction of healthcare analytical tools, can the healthcare industry take its huge and exponentially growing amounts of data and learn from it? The purpose of this paper is to review the available literature on the use of analytical tools in the healthcare industry with a focus on the revenue cycle. Most literature available to be reviewed is centered around discussions and theories on the use of analytical tools in the industry. A survey of revenue cycle leaders was conducted to determine the prevalence and importance of analytical tools in conjunction with the revenue cycle. This information will be valuable to revenue cycle leaders in determining if others in the industry are adopting these tools and the potential benefits of using analytical tools in their own departments

Optimizing Guideline-Recommended Antibiotic Doses for Pediatric Infective Endocarditis

The American Heart Association recently published an updated scientific statement on the management of infective endocarditis in childhood. The recommendations included for vancomycin, aminoglycoside, and β-lactam dosing and monitoring are based primarily on expert opinion and do not consider available evidence for dose optimization based on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles in pediatric patients. This is concerning because even when clinically necessary, some practitioners may be hesitant to deviate from guideline-recommended doses. In this perspective, we highlight potential areas for improvement in the statement-recommended doses and summarize evidence supporting antibiotic dosing optimization. The addition of a pediatric clinical pharmacist with expertise in antibiotic dosing to the panel would be beneficial for future updates

Evidence for ACTN3 as a genetic modifier of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is characterized by muscle degeneration and progressive weakness. There is considerable inter-patient variability in disease onset and progression, which can confound the results of clinical trials. Here we show that a common null polymorphism (R577X) in ACTN3 results in significantly reduced muscle strength and a longer 10\u2009m walk test time in young, ambulant patients with DMD; both of which are primary outcome measures in clinical trials. We have developed a double knockout mouse model, which also shows reduced muscle strength, but is protected from stretch-induced eccentric damage with age. This suggests that \u3b1-actinin-3 deficiency reduces muscle performance at baseline, but ameliorates the progression of dystrophic pathology. Mechanistically, we show that \u3b1-actinin-3 deficiency triggers an increase in oxidative muscle metabolism through activation of calcineurin, which likely confers the protective effect. Our studies suggest that ACTN3 R577X genotype is a modifier of clinical phenotype in DMD patients

Violence Affecting School Employees

A review of the literature shows significant violence (both physical and verbal threats) in schools in the United States (U.S.). Almost all of the studies focus on violence by students and against students. There is very limited information about violence involving employees in the schools even though teachers are three times more likely to be attacked than are students on a per capita basis. The purpose of this study was to understand the extent, causation, and reduction of violence against school employees in a metropolitan area. Administrators of all schools (K-12, vocational schools, and colleges) in a 4-county, 2-state metropolitan area were surveyed. The results of the survey found that violence in the Portland metropolitan area was not as prevalent as nationwide trends indicate. However, most respondents believed violence would continue at the present level into the future. More research needs to be conducted about violence against school employees, but it should carefully consider the geographical area and the type of respondents

The Grizzly, November 5, 2015

Wellness Increases Accessibility to Students • Trending: Discounted Jerseys • U-Imagine to Host Annual Bear Pitch Competition • A New Take on an Old Genre • STAT: More Than Just an Acronym • Opinions: Students Who Go the Distance; Sicario • Field Hockey Set to Defend Centennial Conference Title • Battle in Gettysburghttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1676/thumbnail.jp

Transient Ru-Methyl Formate Intermediates Generated with Bifunctional Transfer Hydrogenation Catalysts

Desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) coupled to high-resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometry (MS) was used to study the reactivity of a (β-amino alcohol)(arene)RuCl transfer hydrogenation catalytic precursor in methanol (CH3OH). By placing [(p-cymene)RuCl2]2 on a surface and spraying a solution of β-amino alcohol in methanol, two unique transient intermediates having lifetimes in the submillisecond to millisecond range were detected. These intermediates were identified as Ru (II) and Ru (IV) complexes incorporating methyl formate (HCOOCH3). The Ru (IV) intermediate is not observed when the DESI spray solution is sparged with Ar gas, indicating that O2 dissolved in the solvent is necessary for oxidizing Ru (II) to Ru (IV). These proposed intermediates are supported by high-resolution and high mass accuracy measurements and by comparing experimental to calculated isotope profiles. Additionally, analyzing the bulk reaction mixture using gas chromatography-MS and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy confirms the formation of HCOOCH3. These results represent an example that species generated from the (β-amino alcohol)(arene)RuCl (II) catalytic precursor can selectively oxidize CH3OH to HCOOCH3. This observation leads us to propose a pathway that can compete with the hydrogen transfer catalytic cycle. Although bifunctional hydrogen transfer with Ru catalysts has been well-studied, the ability of DESI to intercept intermediates formed in the first few milliseconds of a chemical reaction allowed identification of previously unrecognized intermediates and reaction pathways in this catalytic system

Nanoconnectomic upper bound on the variability of synaptic plasticity

Information in a computer is quantified by the number of bits that can be stored and recovered. An important question about the brain is how much information can be stored at a synapse through synaptic plasticity, which depends on the history of probabilistic synaptic activity. The strong correlation between size and efficacy of a synapse allowed us to estimate the variability of synaptic plasticity. In an EM reconstruction of hippocampal neuropil we found single axons making two or more synaptic contacts onto the same dendrites, having shared histories of presynaptic and postsynaptic activity. The spine heads and neck diameters, but not neck lengths, of these pairs were nearly identical in size. We found that there is a minimum of 26 distinguishable synaptic strengths, corresponding to storing 4.7 bits of information at each synapse. Because of stochastic variability of synaptic activation the observed precision requires averaging activity over several minutes

The Grizzly, October 22, 2015

New President on the Brock: Brock Blomberg Takes the Helm at Ursinus • Blomberg Installed as 17th President • Blomberg Begins New Era with Intellectual Discussions • Homecoming Court Crowned • 5 Questions with Brock • A Historic Moment Celebrated in a Historic Place • A Taste of the Workplace • Dr. Hess has Good Chemistry with Freshmen Students • Opinions: Should UC Ban Cigarettes?; New Film Green Inferno Rates 3 / 10 • Distance Doesn\u27t Matter: Two Women\u27s Soccer Players Come From Very Far Apart • Men\u27s and Women\u27s Soccer Look to End Seasons on a High Notehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1674/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, October 29, 2015

SPINT Hosts Trick-or-Treating • Fall Foliage at Ursinus • Antisemitism Panel Seeks Nuance • HEART Lab Brings Promising Results • Harvest Festival Ends Sustainability Week • Rekindling the Lantern • A Poem a Day Keeps Writer\u27s Block Away • In the Voice of the Frog • Opinions: Voter Ambivalence is Harmful; Gun Control a Loaded Issue • Division III Sports Offer Big-Time Benefits to Ursinus Athletes • Men\u27s and Women\u27s Swimming Prepare for Start of Seasonhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1675/thumbnail.jp