Pikeville Medical Center joins Mayo Clinic Care Network

Pikeville Medical Center President Walter May and Dr. 
Stephen Lange, Mayo Clinic's Southeast medical director

Pikeville Medical Center joined the Mayo Clinic Care Network last week, extending the clinic's knowledge and expertise to PMC staff, which the hospital says will improve health care delivery for 420,000 Appalachians while allowing them to stay close to home.

Some of the resources that will now be available to PMC physicians and providers include its online point-of-care information system and electronic consulting that connects physicians with Mayo Clinic specialists about diagnosis, therapy or care management, says a PMC news release.

“Pikeville Medical Center is honored that we have been asked to become a member of Mayo Clinic Care Network,” says Walter E. May, president and chief executive officer of PMC. “I have admired Mayo Clinic for many years and tried to make Pikeville Medical Center more like the Mayo Clinic. This new agreement will take our hospital to the next level.”

The primary goal of the Mayo Clinic Care Network is to offer Mayo Clinic expertise close to home so that patients only travel when necessary, says the release. The network was launched in 2011 and has member organizations based in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Puerto Rico and Mexico. See details about specific hospitals in the map below.

“We are pleased to welcome Pikeville Medical Center and its more than 2,000 employees into our Mayo Clinic Care Network family,” says Stephen Lange, M.D., southeast medical director of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. “Our mission is to work collaboratively to improve the quality of health care and value for our patients. We are very excited to work together with Pikeville to find bold and innovative ways to enhance the quality of life for the patients in that region of the country.”

PMC serves 420,000 people and 15 counties in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia, and the hospital is currently undergoing a $150 million expansion.

Pikeville Medical Center President Walter May and Dr. 
Stephen Lange, Mayo Clinic's Southeast medical director

Pikeville Medical Center joined the Mayo Clinic Care Network last week, extending the clinic's knowledge and expertise to PMC staff, which the hospital says will improve health care delivery for 420,000 Appalachians while allowing them to stay close to home.

Some of the resources that will now be available to PMC physicians and providers include its online point-of-care information system and electronic consulting that connects physicians with Mayo Clinic specialists about diagnosis, therapy or care management, says a PMC news release.

“Pikeville Medical Center is honored that we have been asked to become a member of Mayo Clinic Care Network,” says Walter E. May, president and chief executive officer of PMC. “I have admired Mayo Clinic for many years and tried to make Pikeville Medical Center more like the Mayo Clinic. This new agreement will take our hospital to the next level.”

The primary goal of the Mayo Clinic Care Network is to offer Mayo Clinic expertise close to home so that patients only travel when necessary, says the release. The network was launched in 2011 and has member organizations based in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Puerto Rico and Mexico. See details about specific hospitals in the map below.

“We are pleased to welcome Pikeville Medical Center and its more than 2,000 employees into our Mayo Clinic Care Network family,” says Stephen Lange, M.D., southeast medical director of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. “Our mission is to work collaboratively to improve the quality of health care and value for our patients. We are very excited to work together with Pikeville to find bold and innovative ways to enhance the quality of life for the patients in that region of the country.”

PMC serves 420,000 people and 15 counties in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia, and the hospital is currently undergoing a $150 million expansion.

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U of L's Trover medical campus ranked among best for rural medicine education and addresing rural physician shortage

The University of Louisville School of Medicine Trover Rural Campus in Madisonville was rated third best in the nation for preparing medical students to practice in rural areas, which is critical to the state since most of Kentucky's rural counties are considered to be short of health professionals.

“From the president and the deans to the individual faculty and staff, our team has proven the value of a collaboration of a rural campus and an urban university. The beneficiaries are our students and the rural Kentucky communities who receive these new doctors who are well prepared to care for them,” Dr. Bill Crump, right, associate dean for the Trover campus, said in a UofL press release.
  
The study by researchers at the University of Colorado, which will be published in Academic Medicine in August, ranked 35 programs across the nation and found that 62 percent of Trover graduates practice medicine in rural areas, says the release.

“This national recognition is the fulfillment of Dr. Loman Trover’s vision outlined almost 60 years ago of providing first class medical education in a small town with the goal of producing more physicians for rural Kentucky, and is a testament to the strong support we’ve had from the Louisville Campus over the past 15 years,” said Crump.

Nationally, there is a physician shortage in rural areas because only 3 percent of medical students report want to practice rural medicine, while 16 percent of Americans live in rural areas. This problem is especially large in Kentucky, says the release, since a majority of the state's 59 counties classified as rural are considered to be short of medical professionals..

“Our Trover campus is vital to fulfilling this mission and especially critical now because our state faces such a significant shortage of physicians, especially in rural areas. Dr. Crump’s leadership of the program is one of the reasons for its success. We view the program as a model that has the potential to be implemented in other areas of Kentucky,” said School of Medicine Dean Dr. Toni Ganzel.

The University of Louisville School of Medicine Trover Rural Campus in Madisonville was rated third best in the nation for preparing medical students to practice in rural areas, which is critical to the state since most of Kentucky's rural counties are considered to be short of health professionals.

“From the president and the deans to the individual faculty and staff, our team has proven the value of a collaboration of a rural campus and an urban university. The beneficiaries are our students and the rural Kentucky communities who receive these new doctors who are well prepared to care for them,” Dr. Bill Crump, right, associate dean for the Trover campus, said in a UofL press release.
  
The study by researchers at the University of Colorado, which will be published in Academic Medicine in August, ranked 35 programs across the nation and found that 62 percent of Trover graduates practice medicine in rural areas, says the release.

“This national recognition is the fulfillment of Dr. Loman Trover’s vision outlined almost 60 years ago of providing first class medical education in a small town with the goal of producing more physicians for rural Kentucky, and is a testament to the strong support we’ve had from the Louisville Campus over the past 15 years,” said Crump.

Nationally, there is a physician shortage in rural areas because only 3 percent of medical students report want to practice rural medicine, while 16 percent of Americans live in rural areas. This problem is especially large in Kentucky, says the release, since a majority of the state's 59 counties classified as rural are considered to be short of medical professionals..

“Our Trover campus is vital to fulfilling this mission and especially critical now because our state faces such a significant shortage of physicians, especially in rural areas. Dr. Crump’s leadership of the program is one of the reasons for its success. We view the program as a model that has the potential to be implemented in other areas of Kentucky,” said School of Medicine Dean Dr. Toni Ganzel.

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Frontier Nursing University in Hyden helps bring better family health care to rural America with distance learning

Midwives and nurse practitioners who recently graduated from Frontier Nursing University in Hyden address the unique challenges of rural areas, including shortages of health care providers, by bringing local health care to rural communities across the country. FNU was featured in a recent report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

FNU, a graduate program that offers distance education to nurses with an interest in nurse-midwifery and family nurse practitioner and women’s health specialties, aims to build a pipeline of highly educated nurses serving in rural or underserved areas, reports RWJF, one of its funders.  Many scholars and grantees sponsored by RWJF go on to spearhead projects to improve access to high quality nursing care in remote areas, the foundation says.

“We’re trying to introduce primary care providers into rural areas in such a way that they can provide high quality care and preventive services too,” says Suzan Ulrich, associate dean of midwifery and women’s health at FNU and an RWJF executive nurse fellow.

Demand for health care is rising nationwide because of an aging population that is living longer, but sicker, with multiple chronic conditions. The need for health care providers will intensify next year, when millions of new patients will become eligible for health insurance under the health-reform law.

Rural parts of the country face unique challenges and shortages of health providers, including nurses, can be particularly acute in rural areas, said Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association. These nurses and other providers have less access to education programs, which tend to be located in more densely populated areas. Programs that offer advanced degrees, from the baccalaureate to the doctorate, can be especially difficult to access for students living in rural areas, according to RWJF.

Identifying and educating nurses from rural areas is a key goal of FNU, which offers distance education programs that enable students to remain in their home communities and a “bridge” program that allows nurses with associate’s degrees to move more easily into master’s and doctorate programs. “These students really love where they live,” Ulrich said. “If we can educate them to stay within their communities, then those communities are going to have a provider who’s going to be there a long time." (Read more)

Midwives and nurse practitioners who recently graduated from Frontier Nursing University in Hyden address the unique challenges of rural areas, including shortages of health care providers, by bringing local health care to rural communities across the country. FNU was featured in a recent report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

FNU, a graduate program that offers distance education to nurses with an interest in nurse-midwifery and family nurse practitioner and women’s health specialties, aims to build a pipeline of highly educated nurses serving in rural or underserved areas, reports RWJF, one of its funders.  Many scholars and grantees sponsored by RWJF go on to spearhead projects to improve access to high quality nursing care in remote areas, the foundation says.

“We’re trying to introduce primary care providers into rural areas in such a way that they can provide high quality care and preventive services too,” says Suzan Ulrich, associate dean of midwifery and women’s health at FNU and an RWJF executive nurse fellow.

Demand for health care is rising nationwide because of an aging population that is living longer, but sicker, with multiple chronic conditions. The need for health care providers will intensify next year, when millions of new patients will become eligible for health insurance under the health-reform law.

Rural parts of the country face unique challenges and shortages of health providers, including nurses, can be particularly acute in rural areas, said Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association. These nurses and other providers have less access to education programs, which tend to be located in more densely populated areas. Programs that offer advanced degrees, from the baccalaureate to the doctorate, can be especially difficult to access for students living in rural areas, according to RWJF.

Identifying and educating nurses from rural areas is a key goal of FNU, which offers distance education programs that enable students to remain in their home communities and a “bridge” program that allows nurses with associate’s degrees to move more easily into master’s and doctorate programs. “These students really love where they live,” Ulrich said. “If we can educate them to stay within their communities, then those communities are going to have a provider who’s going to be there a long time." (Read more)

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Fiscal-cliff deal revives program that helps rural hospitals dependent on Medicare; 200 in nation, 10 in Kentucky

Even though most of the hospital industry wasn't happy with the fiscal-cliff deal that will only pay half the $30 billion needed to avoid a 27 percent Medicare fee cut for doctors, the deal gave about 200 rural hospitals, including 10 in Kentucky, reason to celebrate. It extends a program that pays hospitals up to several millions of dollars a year because they have fewer than 100 beds, are located in rural areas and have a high percentage of Medicare patients, Phil Galewitz of Kaiser Health News reports.

The Medicare Dependent Hospital Program was created in 1990 and is one of several payment programs designed to help small, rural hospitals deal with financial challenges that larger hospitals don't face. The program is based on the idea that "some rural hospitals have such a high percentage of Medicare patients they are unable to get enough money from higher paying privately insured patients to make up for the lower government reimbursements," health lawyer Eric Zimmerman told Galewitz.

The program has come under scrutiny. Congress allowed it to expire in September 2012, but two senators from New York and Iowa made sure $100 million for the program made it into the budget deal. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission said hospitals in the program will receive about 25 percent higher reimbursements as a result of the funding. (Read more)

The Kentucky hospitals in the program are Clinton County Hospital, Fleming County Hospital, Harrison Memorial Hospital, Jewish Hospital Shelbyville, Logan Memorial Hospital, Monroe County Medical Center, Parkway Regional Hospital in Fulton, Rockcastle Regional Hospital, Taylor Regional Hospital and Westlake Regional Hospital in Columbia. The Appalachian Regional Hospital in Williamson, W.Va., is also considered a Kentucky hospital in the program.

Even though most of the hospital industry wasn't happy with the fiscal-cliff deal that will only pay half the $30 billion needed to avoid a 27 percent Medicare fee cut for doctors, the deal gave about 200 rural hospitals, including 10 in Kentucky, reason to celebrate. It extends a program that pays hospitals up to several millions of dollars a year because they have fewer than 100 beds, are located in rural areas and have a high percentage of Medicare patients, Phil Galewitz of Kaiser Health News reports.

The Medicare Dependent Hospital Program was created in 1990 and is one of several payment programs designed to help small, rural hospitals deal with financial challenges that larger hospitals don't face. The program is based on the idea that "some rural hospitals have such a high percentage of Medicare patients they are unable to get enough money from higher paying privately insured patients to make up for the lower government reimbursements," health lawyer Eric Zimmerman told Galewitz.

The program has come under scrutiny. Congress allowed it to expire in September 2012, but two senators from New York and Iowa made sure $100 million for the program made it into the budget deal. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission said hospitals in the program will receive about 25 percent higher reimbursements as a result of the funding. (Read more)

The Kentucky hospitals in the program are Clinton County Hospital, Fleming County Hospital, Harrison Memorial Hospital, Jewish Hospital Shelbyville, Logan Memorial Hospital, Monroe County Medical Center, Parkway Regional Hospital in Fulton, Rockcastle Regional Hospital, Taylor Regional Hospital and Westlake Regional Hospital in Columbia. The Appalachian Regional Hospital in Williamson, W.Va., is also considered a Kentucky hospital in the program.

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Harlan doctor tells White House summit about his changeover to electronic health records

Dr. Carl Smith Jr.

Almost a decade ago, Dr. Carl Smith Jr. did something that many health care providers across America are still struggling to do: He implemented electronic health records that can be assessed from anywhere in the United States during an emergency.

Because the process is expensive, and Smith works in rural, isolated Harlan County, he earned a trip to Washington, D.C. for this year's White House Health IT Town Hall meeting. The assembly was gathered to discuss progress and barriers on the road toward a national health IT system, reports Nola Sizemore of the Harlan Daily Enterprise.

At the meeting, senior White House officials and Department of Health and Human Services staff asked him about how he was able to accomplish the change from paper records. Smith, a pediatrician, explained how the system works: “Because of this technology, we can send the patient’s prescription electronically by secure email to pharmacies. We can check medical histories, what diseases or medical conditions are trending in the area, and I can voice activate details of the patient’s visit into their record. We can also give patients clinical summaries when they leave our office. We have proved to national governing bodies we can and are doing this.”

Smith added that with the use of electronic records, doctors will be able to access your medical history to see what medications you take, allergies and other pertinent information about your health should you be in an auto accident or suffer injury anywhere in the United States. He said this will especially be helpful if the patient were unable to provide information.(Read more)

Dr. Carl Smith Jr.

Almost a decade ago, Dr. Carl Smith Jr. did something that many health care providers across America are still struggling to do: He implemented electronic health records that can be assessed from anywhere in the United States during an emergency.

Because the process is expensive, and Smith works in rural, isolated Harlan County, he earned a trip to Washington, D.C. for this year's White House Health IT Town Hall meeting. The assembly was gathered to discuss progress and barriers on the road toward a national health IT system, reports Nola Sizemore of the Harlan Daily Enterprise.

At the meeting, senior White House officials and Department of Health and Human Services staff asked him about how he was able to accomplish the change from paper records. Smith, a pediatrician, explained how the system works: “Because of this technology, we can send the patient’s prescription electronically by secure email to pharmacies. We can check medical histories, what diseases or medical conditions are trending in the area, and I can voice activate details of the patient’s visit into their record. We can also give patients clinical summaries when they leave our office. We have proved to national governing bodies we can and are doing this.”

Smith added that with the use of electronic records, doctors will be able to access your medical history to see what medications you take, allergies and other pertinent information about your health should you be in an auto accident or suffer injury anywhere in the United States. He said this will especially be helpful if the patient were unable to provide information.(Read more)

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Rural health care is a notch below care in urban areas, but its costs are lower and its emergency rooms are faster, study finds

A national study has found a narrow gap between the quality of health care in rural and urban settings, but it does recognize the "significant differences" differences between urban and rural care.

The report is an update to "Rural Relevance Under Healthcare Reform: A Tracking Study," by iVantage Health Analytics, and evaluates performance measures across physician, outpatient, hospital and emergency room settings. According to a press release, the report reveals that in Medicare could save about $7.2 billion if costs per patient were the same in rural and urban settings. The report also finds that for rural patients, physician payments are 18 percent lower and hospital payments are 2 percent lower than in urban areas, but outpatient payments are 14 percent higher. The overall cost per Medicare patient is 3.7 percent lower for rural patients.

Rural emergency care is faster overall than urban emergency room care, with rural patients seeing a doctor 30 percent faster (once the patient gets to the hospital, we should add). This results in fewer hospital admissions. The full report can be accessed here.

A national study has found a narrow gap between the quality of health care in rural and urban settings, but it does recognize the "significant differences" differences between urban and rural care.

The report is an update to "Rural Relevance Under Healthcare Reform: A Tracking Study," by iVantage Health Analytics, and evaluates performance measures across physician, outpatient, hospital and emergency room settings. According to a press release, the report reveals that in Medicare could save about $7.2 billion if costs per patient were the same in rural and urban settings. The report also finds that for rural patients, physician payments are 18 percent lower and hospital payments are 2 percent lower than in urban areas, but outpatient payments are 14 percent higher. The overall cost per Medicare patient is 3.7 percent lower for rural patients.

Rural emergency care is faster overall than urban emergency room care, with rural patients seeing a doctor 30 percent faster (once the patient gets to the hospital, we should add). This results in fewer hospital admissions. The full report can be accessed here.

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