In health care, we tend to value the new and the next, occasionally with a snub of the tried and the true. I’m thinking about how clinicians today build relationships with their patients. Research findings differ, but on average, patients spend 10 or 15 minutes with their doctor during each visit. Because of changes in(...)
Care Providers
Burnout: a Crisis Among Physicians in Training
Posted by | Care Providers, Health System Sustainability, Medical Education, ResearchRecently, the American Medical Association (AMA) invested $15 million in eight ambitious programs to address the workplace needs of our current health system. Among the goals of this grant was to address the crisis of burnout among training physicians by investing in wellness innovations. In many ways, it is an issue as important and consequential(...)
One Robot, Zero Radiation, Healing Twice as Fast
Posted by | Care Providers, Health Innovation, Medical Technology, Patient Care, Patient SafetyBy Nicholas Theodore, M.D. If a person’s spine is unstable because of injury, degenerative disease or another cause, he or she may need spinal stabilization surgery to correct the problem. During this procedure, surgeons typically take multiple X-rays to pinpoint where to place screws to stabilize the spine. I was convinced there was a better(...)
No More Pain and Dancing Again
Posted by | Care Providers, Latin America, Patient CareFor nearly four years, Mexico City resident Rebecca Passy suffered from a displaced vertebra in her lower back. Not only did this cause her debilitating pain, it robbed her of one of her greatest joys: dancing. If she ever was going to be able to live pain free and dance, Rebecca needed surgery to fuse(...)
One-in-a-Million Diagnosis? Those Odds Don’t Faze Us.
Posted by | Care Providers, Latin America, Patient CareBy Ali Bydon, M.D. Before he came to The Johns Hopkins Hospital for treatment in 2017, Pedro Gil, now 45, had struggled with a thoracic disk herniation for 10 years. His herniated disk had calcified, turning to bone, and it pressed on his spinal cord to produce excruciating pain, weakness, numbness and even paralysis. He(...)
AI and Eye Health
Posted by | Care Providers, Patient CareBy Dr. T. Y. Alvin Liu Did you know the retina is actually part of the brain? It’s a direct extension of the central nervous system. So when people say eyes are the window to one’s soul, it’s perhaps not that far of a stretch after all. I’ve been interested in the retina since I(...)
From West Point to East Baltimore
Posted by | Care Providers, Patient CareBy Dr. James Ficke I have been an orthopaedic surgeon for more than two decades, but I’m also a retired U.S. Army colonel. It was my 30-year career in military medicine that instilled a passion for studying outcomes related to limb loss, limb salvage and lower-extremity trauma—conditions I saw in Mosul that I now treat(...)
Just Back From JHI’s ‘Family Reunion’
Posted by | Care Providers, Collaboration, Health System Sustainability, Latin America, Medical Education, Nurse Development, Patient Care, Precision MedicineFor 13 years now, Johns Hopkins Medicine International has held our version of a family reunion. Johns Hopkins Medicine International Partners Forum brings together leaders, care providers and researchers from our nearly 20 affiliates in 15 countries. Some years, the extended “family” comes to us in Baltimore. Last week Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, with(...)
House Calls and Health Care Today
Posted by | Care Providers, Collaboration, Health System Sustainability, Patient Care, Patient SafetyBy Mary Myers Traditional hospitals today account for about a third of all medical spending—an incredible $1.1 trillion. However, during this era of consolidation across health care, we are seeing a steep decline in inpatient facilities. In fact, 20 percent fewer hospitals are operating in the United States than 35 years ago, and they are(...)