Moving Intelligent Change Forward
August, 2017 Vol. 1 - In This Issue:
Let's be clear. We all share a common goal in U.S. healthcare: a healthy society. And there are many principles we can agree work in the best interest of patients. Collaboration and community partnerships that optimize services and supports for healthy communities? Yes. Teamwork and care coordination across settings and disease states? Absolutely. Transparency of the best evidence (or lack of it) and cost to the patient? Why not?! Accountability for industry, clinicians, payers AND patients? A must. The challenge is figuring out how we can get there and just what policies will work to move towards the vision we share.

How Multi-Sector Health Partnerships Evolve 
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Strong partnerships spanning an array of sectors-including public health, housing, education, transportation and others-are the bedrocks of healthy communities. How do they evolve and what makes them successful? 

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Don't Blame Doctors for Nonadherence
 
 
The New York Times says nonadherence to prescribed medications is "an out-of-control epidemic" in the U.S. and quotes a review in Annals of Internal Medicine, which found "20-30% of medication prescriptions are never filled, and approximately 50% of medications for chronic illness are not taken as prescribed."  

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Google Spent 2 Years Studying 180 Teams. The Most Successful Ones Shared These 5 Traits

Over the years, Google has embarked on countless quests, collected endless amounts of data, and spent millions trying to better understand its people. One of the company's most interesting initiatives, Project Aristotle, gathered several of Google's best and brightest to help the organization codify the secrets to team effectiveness.

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The Smart-Medicine Solution to the Health-Care Crisis

Our health-care system won't be fixed by insurance reform. To contain costs and improve results, we need to move aggressively to adopt the tools of information-age medicine. 

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After a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, Danny van Leeuwen describes his relationship with his neurologist
 
For more than 25 years I experienced episodes of weakness, shortness of breath, and dizziness. My primary care doctors ordered a full cardiac investigation each time I went to see him or her because my father had died from a heart attack when he was 45. My tests were always negative. Then I developed trouble with my vision, and the weakness got worse and did not resolve. 

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Evidence based medicine manifesto for better healthcare
 

Informed decision making requires clinicians and patients to identify and integrate relevant evidence. But with the questionable integrity of much of today's evidence, the lack of research answering questions that matter to patients, and the lack of evidence to inform shared decision how are they expected to do this?  
 
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From Evidence Based Medicine to Medicine Based Evidence 

Evidence based medicine, using randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses as the major tools and sources of evidence about average results for heterogeneous groups of patients, developed as a reaction against poorly designed observational treatment research and physician reliance on personal experience with other patients as a guide to decision making about a patient at hand.  

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FDA Sets Inaugural Meeting of First-Ever Patient Engagement Advisory Committee 

Imagine checking your blood sugar levels several times a day with a glucose meter to keep your diabetes under control. Or maybe you've had a hip joint replaced or a stent inserted in your coronary artery to treat a heart blockage.  

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Price Transparency In Medicine Faces Stiff Opposition - From Hospitals And Doctors 

Two years after it passed unanimously in Ohio's state Legislature, a law meant to inform patients what health care procedures will cost is in a state of suspended animation.  

Passion + Quality = Change That Matters
  
I embrace the powerful opportunities in our evolving health care landscape. I founded Momentum Health Strategies to be a catalyst for change through continuous learning, diverse engagement and thoughtful policy and practice initiatives. I deliver innovative, strategic thinking and a passion for improving the patient experience. My personal drive and dedication to high-quality results will help you navigate the competitive terrain you face and convert your vision to action.

Momentum Health Strategies

Jennifer L Bright, MPA
(703) 628 - 0534