LocumLife - March 2009 - (Page 6) INSIGHTS Stat! News locum tenens physicians can use IN BRIEF… Electronic drug interaction warnings ignored by clinicians recent study performed by researchers at the DanaFarber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC ) indicated that many practitioners rely on their own judgment rather than heeding electronic medication safety alerts. Published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the findings noted that medical professionals considered the system that warns of potential conflicts in medication a nuisance and they often chose to override the alerts. “Electronic prescribing clearly will improve medication safety, but its full benefit will not be realized without the development and integration of highquality decision support systems to help clinicians better manage medication safety alerts,” says the study’s senior author, Saul Weingart, MD, PhD, vice president for patient safety at DanaFarber and an internist at BIDMC. Of the 3.5 million electronic prescriptions submitted by clinicians at community-based outpatient practices, 6.6% triggered an alert for a drug or allergy interaction. Most of these notices (98.6%) warned of possible interactions for medications that the patient was already taking. AMA files lawsuit The American Medical Association—along with several state medical associations and individual physicians—has filed classaction suits against Aetna Health, Inc. and CIGNA Corporation for under-reimbursement of outof-network medical care. Recent investigations found that the insurers used flawed data provided by UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Ingenix for over 10 years to determine repayment rates, cheating the healthcare providers out of full compensation. A Medical providers overrode more than 90% of the drug interaction alerts and 77% of the drug allergy alerts, including drug interaction warnings rated with high severity. Clinicians were also more inclined to dismiss the alert if the patient had previously taken the medication. “We need to find a way to help clinicians to separate the proverbial wheat from the chaff,” says Dr. Weingart. “Until then, electronic prescribing systems stand to fall far short of their promise to enhance patient safety and to generate greater efficiencies and cost savings.” In an effort to promote patient safety, the authors recommended several improvements to the system, including reclassifying severity alerts, adding an option that would allow practitioners to suppress alerts for medications that were previously taken by patients, and customizing alerts for a clinician’s specialty. As most locum tenens physicians do not have long-term relationships with the patients they encounter, relying on electronic safety alerts for additional information is an important aspect of delivering care on location. Further details of this report are available at www.dana-farber. org/electronic-medication-safety. Obama ensures health coverage for children President Obama signed legislation that will continue to provide federal health insurance to about 7 million children and an additional 4.1 million enrollees by 2013. Congress recently reauthorized the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which will provide health insurance for children, up to 4½ years old, in families with incomes as high as three times the federal poverty level. DID YOU KNOW… BOOKSHELF White Coat Wisdom Stephen J. Busalacchi (2008/590 pages/$29.97/Hardcover/ ISBN: 13: 978-0979422201/Apollo’s Voice, LLC) Written by a seasoned medical journalist, this book shares the insightful stories of 36 Wisconsin physicians from diverse backgrounds and specialties. Through candid personal accounts, they reveal why medicine has become a lifelong passion. They offer helpful advice on how to improve the present healthcare system, using methods that have been successful in their own practice. As a result of their efforts, these healers have made a lasting impact on the quality of care for their patients. The book and podcasts of the interviews are available at www.whitecoatwisdom.com. Top destinations to watch in 2009 Austin, Texas Berlin, Germany Budapest, Hungary Cambodia Hawaii Mexico Panama Reykjavík, Iceland Vancouver, British Columbia Washington, DC Source: Budget Travel. (5 January 2009). Top Budget Travel Destinations for 2009. Retrieved February 20, 2009, from http://www.budget travel.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2008/12/30/ AR2008123001982.html?wpisrc=newsletter 6 LocumLife MARCH 2009 www.LocumLife.com http://www.dana-farber.org/electronic-medication-safety http://www.dana-farber.org/electronic-medication-safety http://www.whitecoatwisdom.com http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2008/12/30/AR2008123001982.html?wpisrc=newsletter http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2008/12/30/AR2008123001982.html?wpisrc=newsletter http://www.LocumLife.com
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