When you’re ill, it’s a struggle just to change out of your pajamas or heat up a cup of tea. Going into work is out of the question. For patients who are critically ill, traveling for care can feel unbearable. Patients would rather receive treatment locally, where they have family support and can recuperate in(...)
Patient Safety
The Business Case for Clinical Excellence
Posted by | Clinical Program Development, Collaboration, Health Innovation, Health System Sustainability, Patient SafetyIn the complex and continually changing environment of health care, some institutions—including Johns Hopkins—are differentiating themselves by establishing niche programs that deliver world-class care on selected fronts. Known as centers of excellence, these programs provide patients with specialized expertise and resources, and they offer advantages both within and between health care institutions. Patient-Centered Care In(...)
Unraveling Irrationality in Heath Care
Posted by | Health Innovation, Patient Care, Patient Safety, ResearchReasoning defines human intelligence, yet we all too often make choices that utterly defy logic. We’re impatient or irrational—or both—even when it comes to ensuring our own good health. An earlier post covered the huge risk of overprescribing antibiotics. Overuse exposes patients to potentially dangerous side effects, wastes resources, increases antibiotic resistance and spurs the(...)
Deadly Resistance
Posted by | Health Innovation, Patient Care, Patient Safety, ResearchDr. Sara Cosgrove The Scottish physician Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928. Since then, antibiotics have transformed modern medicine and saved millions of lives by killing or slowing the growth of the bacteria that cause conditions such as bronchitis and pneumonia. However, shortly after winning the Nobel Prize in 1945, Fleming issued this warning in(...)
One for the Record Books
Posted by | Clinical Program Development, Collaboration, Health Innovation, Latin America, Patient Care, Patient SafetyOn May 11, 2016, Pacifica Salud Hospital Punta Pacifica made history by performing the first successful heart transplant in Panama. For the two years leading up to this event, Johns Hopkins Medicine International (JHI) worked with our affiliate Pacifica Salud behind the scenes, providing guidance in clinical programs, staff development, quality and patient safety. As(...)
Localizing Clinical Care
Posted by | Asia Pacific, Clinical Program Development, Collaboration, Health Innovation, Health System Sustainability, Latin America, Medical Education, Medical Technology, Middle East, Patient Care, Patient SafetyHealth care is a competitive business. Hospitals often invest in their clinical programs as a way to distinguish themselves in an increasingly tough marketplace. Hospitals offer clinical programs, such as emergency services, to compete directly for patients. Others use some services as a stepping stone leading to other in-demand care, for example, launching cardiac catheterization(...)
Download on Telehealth
Posted by | Collaboration, Health Innovation, Patient Care, Patient SafetyAs you’re reading this, there’s a good chance your phone is in your hand or at least within close reach. People everywhere are reliant upon—maybe even addicted—to their smartphones. This trend in our globalized world opens up great opportunities to improve health and health care. The evolution in technology—including online transactions, electronic medical records and(...)
“Call of Duty” Meets ER
Posted by | Health Innovation, Medical Technology, Patient SafetyAs early as the 1960s, the armed services, government laboratories and military think tanks began using the most modern computers available to create computer-based games for training, analysis and virtual warfare. These simulations created a low-risk, yet effective way to test and refine military and political policies and prepare teams to undertake extremely difficult tasks.(...)
Betting Big on Artificial Intelligence
Posted by | Health Innovation, Medical Technology, Patient Safety, ResearchThough the term hadn’t yet been invented, the first “smartphone” became available to consumers in 1994. It was the IBM Simon Personal Communicator, and it retailed for today’s equivalent of $1,852—without a contract. Back then, who would have imagined that clunky, expensive mobile could represent the future of medicine? So much has changed nearly 25(...)
Saving Lives by Lowering High Blood Pressure
Posted by | Health Innovation, Medical Technology, Patient Care, Patient Safety, Precision Medicine, ResearchBy Dr. Oscar Cingolani We all know high blood pressure is a global threat, often called “the silent killer.” In fact, hypertension is responsible for one in eight deaths worldwide, and it is the major culprit behind stroke, heart and kidney disease. In a new effort to curb this deadly impact, the American Heart Association(...)