Pulsara Blog

Who's on First is an original comedy skit that was made famous by Abbot and Costello back in the early 1940's. It's a classic illustration of two people talking, but it's as if they are speaking different languages. The longer the skit goes on, the funnier it gets. It's not that their understanding changes — quite the opposite in fact. They continue the conversation, but neither of them ever realizes where the breakdown in communication is happening.

When it comes to communication in healthcare, do you ever feel like you're playing a game of "telephone?"

One of the most challenging aspects of living in the technological age is the speed of change. There was once a day when the person armed with the most knowledge and information had the upper hand. That's not the case in today's world. Instead, the person or company that can rapidly learn and adjust to changing trends, information, and technology will now lead the pack. Your ability to adapt to a rapidly changing world will be the one skill that separates you from your competition.

Imagine this: It's a busy Saturday evening at the hospital. You are understaffed and overworked and it's one of those days where everything seems to be happening at once. The medics bring in a patient suspected of having a STEMI. You know that when time is tissue, every second counts, so you follow proper protocol and, when you need to consult the cardiologist, Dr. Smith, you simply send him a page and continue on with your seemingly endless list of tasks and patients that need your attention.

A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine yesterday, reports that the sugar industry, in particular the Sugar Research Foundation (SRF), sponsored and groomed major research in the 1950s which ultimately down-played the role of sugar in Coronary Heart Disease (CHD).

The SRF paid researchers to publish (in NEJM, nonetheless) findings that suggested that sugar played no major role in CHD, but rather that fat and cholesterol were to blame for increased rates in the disease. According to the JAMA article, "The industry would subsequently spend $600,000 ($5.3 million in 2016 dollars) to teach 'people who had never had a course in biochemistry… that sugar is what keeps every human being alive and with energy to face our daily problems.'”

EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Cynthia Bradford Lencioni for writing today's blog post. You can connect with her on LinkedIn. 

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800 m freestyle
8:04.79 (World Record)
Katie Ledecky
August 12, 2016

400 m freestyle
3:56.46 (World Record)
Katie Ledecky
August 7, 2016

I’m a lot of things: a mom, a wife, a Chief Operating Officer … but one of my longest-standing titles is that of swimmer. I started competing in swimming at age 6 and continued on through Division 1 in college. And while I no longer compete, swimming is still a passion of mine, and my favorite way to exercise. So it’s no surprise that I love watching the Summer Olympics. In addition to the network coverage, it was especially fun to see former teammates and coaches broadcasting TV color commentary and posting behind-the-scenes photos with Michael Phelps and other medal winners.

Just for grins and giggles, I signed in to Netflix recently and watched a few episodes of the medical drama from the 70's, "Emergency!" I'm a little young to remember the show when it was on the air, but when I started in EMS, my paramedic partner insisted that I watch some of it. It was a rite of passage. Of course, there was also Bringing Out the Dead starring Nicholas Cage and Mother, Jugs & Speed with Bill Cosby, but those are for another post.

Geographic Information System (GIS) software has long been employed by public health agencies to assess the health of populations in various locations. But now, healthcare providers are starting to turn to GIS too, in efforts to better identify health risk based on location; as a recent article on the subject points out, there is a strong relationship between people's health and the particular communities they live in. 

How do you solve care management problems at your hospital?

I think that's a fair question. I was talking with a nurse from reputable a STEMI receiving center just a few days ago, and he told me "our times are amazing!" In my role, anytime I hear that it makes me ask lots of questions. I want to learn what the leading hospitals are doing to solve the problems that we all face.

In last week's blog post, I talked about the root of all evil in STEMI care processes: VARIABILITY. 

There are several areas where we commonly see variability in STEMI processes. Here are 3 questions whose answers will give you some insight into whether you might have a variability problem at your facility: 

As Pulsara employees, when we meet with prospective clients we hear a lot of different stories about how well their facilities are already doing. Most of the time they tell us what their mean time for Door-to-Balloon (D2B) is. Many of them sound good on the surface, but there's usually more going on under the hood that they aren't proud of or willing to show you.

The key to reducing Coronary Artery Disease Deaths? Simple. Spread Awareness!

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the most common form of heart disease, and it kills more than 370,000 people per year. Because its symptoms mimic those of many other common ailments, some patients can be led to believe they have come down with the flu, or are simply tired or stressed. For this reason, it is of paramount importance that healthcare providers raise awareness of CAD symptoms and prevention with their patients, and understand and prescribe a combination of the most effective treatments for those patients in which the disease is already identified. 

Well, the time is upon us once again. It is nearly our country's Independence Day, and while the holiday generally brings with it plenty of camping trips, music festivals, family barbeques, etc., it also tends to be a time when many Americans find themselves indulging in lots of fatty, salty, and simple carbohydrate-rich foods from all of those post-river 4th of July cookouts. 

Don't worry! I'm not here to chastise you for that. It's necessary to indulge once in awhile! Instead, I wanted to share the results of an interesting study that examined the diets of people with heart disease to see what effects a Mediterranean style vs. a Western style diet had on their likelihood of experiencing a stroke or heart attack. 

Feeling all alone out there on weekends/holidays/night shifts?

You’re not the only one. Any clinician involved in care of time sensitive emergent patients has experienced the frustration of delays in care during these “off times.” Unfortunately, strokes, STEMIs and traumas do not take time off. Two recent studies (here and here) released in London and Birmingham, UK allude to how process variations have resulted in a decrease in quality of stroke care. Specifically, the quality measurement of door to needle in less than 60 minutes took a hit, and was directly linked to day of week and time of day.

We have a saying in Montana: If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes and it will change. And springtime in Montana often brings blizzards and hail storms one minute, followed by sunshine and blue skies the next. Seriously!