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Benepod Review

Posted on by Grayson

The makers of the Benepod sent mine to me for free in exchange for my feedback and honest review.

Spring is always a rough time for me. The constant barrage of storms brings intense joint pain, especially around my knees. Thankfully, this year, I have the Benepod.

the benepod box with instructions, usb cord, and adapter

You may remember Lady Gaga sharing how she alternates hot and cold quickly for her chronic pain. That’s what this product does, albeit on a smaller scale.

underside of benepod showing a light ring of red around the outside and large circle of blue on the inside

The underside of the device has a red ring that heads up as well as a blue circle that cools down when plugged in. This leads to Thermal Grill Stimulus – something that can’t fully be explained yet. While we don’t know why it works, it can help mask or ease someone’s pain.

One of the coolest parts of using the Benepod is that there is no medication to take or topicals to apply. We really don’t have to worry about side effects like with other pain treatments. I don’t have to resort to extra NSAIDs that upset my IBS or the few muscle relaxers I have that make me woozy.

To use it, you plug the device in. A green blinking light will go solid once the device is ready to use. It’s good for twenty minutes which doesn’t sound like a long time but somehow is. If you want more time, you simply unplug the device, plug it back in, and wait for your solid green light.

It is a little small, so moving it can get a little cumbersome for my crippy arthritis hands. Thankfully, Saringer is already working on things like a strap to hold the device in place to make it even more accessible.

This doesn’t completely get rid of my pain. To be honest, I don’t think there’s any one thing out there that would. What Benepod does, though, is take my pain from a seven or eight out of ten to somewhere between three and five. As much as I loathe those medieval pain scales, they’re at least good to show progress in pain reduction.

With how many storms we’re having lately, I’ve been heavily relying on the Benepod to help me get through the nights. There aren’t many things I feel the need to always have close by, but this is one of them for sure.

Do I have to be near an outlet?

No! The fact this uses a USB cord makes it super easy to use a portable charger to power the pod. The cord is so long, too, that I’m easily able to use it in bed while plugged into a USB hub.

Is this affordable?

Look, I’ve reviewed some things that cost several hundred dollars. I’m happy to say this only costs $99! You can snag it on Amazon, too, which means you could use gift cards and get it quickly.

Is it worth it?

Completely. There are nights that I struggle to sleep because my knee pain is so bad. When I make time to use the Benepod before bed, I actually get a few hours of restful sleep.

Rheumatology Leaders Urge Lawmakers to Address Rising Costs & Access Barriers in Arthritis Care

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This press release from the ACR just came out.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals convened on Capitol Hill this week to urge legislative action on pressing policy issues affecting rheumatology care during the American College of Rheumatology’s Advocacy Leadership Conference, held May 16-17, 2018 in Washington, D.C.

Noting the rising costs and increasing access barriers in rheumatologic care, specialists encouraged lawmakers to support legislation that would create reasonable exceptions to the use of step therapy, grow the rheumatology workforce, increase transparency in drug pricing, and hold pharmacy benefit managers accountable for pricing practices that increase out-of-pocket costs for patients.

“We are at a critical juncture in rheumatology care,” said David Daikh, MD, PhD., President of the ACR. “According to the latest federal estimates, as many as 54 million Americans have a doctor-diagnosed rheumatic disease, and a recent academic study suggests that number could be as high as 91 million when taking into account symptoms reported by undiagnosed individuals. The rheumatology workforce is not growing fast enough to keep up with demand and too many of our patients struggle to access and afford the breakthrough therapies they need to manage their pain and avoid long-term disability. America’s rheumatologists are urging our lawmakers to act now and support bipartisan, common-sense legislation that would increase access to high-quality rheumatology care for their constituents.”

The American College of Rheumatology urged Congressional leaders to support the following legislation to address access and cost barriers in rheumatologic care:

  • Restoring the Patient’s Voice Act (H.R. 2077), bipartisan legislation which would create a clear and transparent process for patients with employer-sponsored insurance to seek exceptions to step therapy;
  • Know the Lowest Price Act of 2018 (S. 2553) and the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act (S. 2554), bipartisan legislation which would allow pharmacists to inform patients when the cash price of their medicines is lower than the price they would pay with insurance coverage;
  • Prescription Transparency Act of 2018 (H.R. 5343) bipartisan legislation that would allow pharmacists to inform patients about alternative options to lower out-of-pocket drug costs;
  • Ensuring Children’s Access to Subspecialty Care Act (H.R. 3767; S. 989), bipartisan legislation that would allow pediatric subspecialists to participate in the National Health Service Corps loan repayment program;
  • Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act (H.R. 2141; S.898), bipartisan legislation which would allow international doctors trained in the U.S. to remain in the country if they practice in underserved areas; and
  • Standardizing Electronic Prior Authorization for Safe Prescribing Act of 2018 (H.R. 4841), bipartisan legislation which would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to develop electronic prior authorization standards for Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans.

Rheumatology leaders also advised members of the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Defense to establish a line item in the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) for arthritis at the Department of Defense using $20 million in existing funds. Such a program would meet the growing needs of active duty military personnel and veterans, a disproportionate number of whom live with osteoarthritis and other rheumatic diseases.

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Migraine Relief is a Beautiful Thing

Posted on by Grayson

Back in mid-April, I finally had a good appointment with my current neurology office!

After months of begging for migraine control, I went into this appointment prepared to issue an ultimatum. It felt clear that they didn’t care enough about my quality of life to give me medications that I need. I’ve been through the migraine treatment ringer in the past – this isn’t a new path for me. Telling me to get more sleep when I’ve been dealing with painsomnia since kindergarten.

When I walked in, I was fully prepared to give this schpeal I’d rehearsed in my head for two days.

Instead, the NP came in and asked how things were going. When I was done sharing my migraine frequency and details, she just went “Let’s get you some meds.”

It’s great to have a positive ‘the fuck?’ lately. Still, I’m really frustrated that it took so long for them to give me actual medication. My quality of life has sucked for a while around migraines. I try to push through, but I always pay for it. Why do I somehow have to prove it to providers by having to live in hell?

I’ve had rizatriptan for just under a month. She prescribed me 9 pills a pop and I’ve already picked up a third fill. In the last few days, I’ve had to take a few of these.

It’s absolutely life-changing.

I can’t frankly put into words how much I appreciate the ability to have more control over my health. To take away some of the unpredictability, it gives me back more confidence. I’m more able to participate in events and get shit done.

It’s incredible.

On top of that, those 9 pills are only five dollars. To think that $5 and jumping through hoops was keeping me from getting relief is bothersome at best.

Here’s to fewer migraines!

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Promethease Can Get You More From Your 23andMe Data

Posted on by Grayson

A while back, I took the 23andMe plunge. While there are always concerns about how data gets handled, I enjoyed the process. I still log in a few times a month to participate in research questions. Still, I wondered if I could get more out of the data they processed. Enter Promethease.

Using SNPedia, Promethease gives you the good, the bad, and the neutral data around your genetics. It’s fairly cheap at around $10 to start and they’re always having freebies – like, right now through May 10th, you can get your report for free.

Once I saw they were offering another freebie, I jumped at the chance to put in my 23andMe data.

It only took about 15 minutes for them to process the raw data from 23andMe. After going through the report, I feel like I have some potential directions for my neuroWTF. Where I really spent time was in the uncool section of my report – the bad.

What I found is that I’m at higher risk for diseases including RA (LOLOLOL), Alzheimer’s (up to 11% more likely), Crohn’s Disease, and Ankylosing Spondylitis. I learned that I have a slow metabolism, especially for steroids, hormones, and protein. I also have a lower response to inhaled steroids… AKA having to use my inhaler a few times to get relief makes a lot more sense.

One of the most interesting things was to learn that I’m likely a carrier for phenylketonuria – a condition that is fairly similar to some of the reactions I have to phenylalanine-containing products. I can’t do diet sodas, sugar-free anything, or even chew most gum.

What I really appreciated was linking these issues to studies around specific genetics. I am 4.6 times more likely to have Ankylosing Spondylitis, for example. The piece that shares this and which genetic component(s) were tested for it has links to the research providing the hypothesis around that figure.

In short, they give you likelihoods and the reading to dive into should you want to learn more. It’s a great tool for engaged patients. It doesn’t seem to matter where you got the data initially (23andMe, Ancestry, etc.) as long as you have the raw data or can grant Promethease access to it.

And, for those concerned about your data? You can download all the information and it’s wiped from their site after a little over a month.

The one negative is that the data is tedious to go through. I had nearly 400 items in the negative category, and a lot of those were repeats. I wish there was an easy way to fold everything up to see various conditions and your increased risk per published paper.

This was way faster than getting the tests actually done, and it’s really nice to have all this raw data. It’s absolutely a service anyone interested in digging more into their genetics should try out.

What do you think? Have you tried Promethease yet?

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Effectively Measuring Patient Engagement: An Investigation Into Patient Engagement And The Patient Activation Measure

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For the month of April, I shared pieces I wrote in the process of obtaining my MS in Health Care Administration which I finished up this past fall. I wanted to wrap that up by sharing a teaser of my capstone which is available at my Academia site. Enjoy!

Abstract

This capstone project involves observing how patient activation/engagement and the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) are written about and evaluated. The research presented draws from peer-reviewed journal articles. The hypothesis of this work is that patient activation is beneficial as studied by trustworthy sources. This is true regardless of one’s place within healthcare and should be both implemented and studied more thoroughly. Findings suggest that, while the Patient Activation Measure is useful to measure activation, it is not a comprehensive tool. PAM is not optimized for a variety of marginalized identities including race and ethnicity. The findings of this capstone are useful for educational purposes. Additionally, this project can serve as the basis for additional research.
Keywords: Health Care Administration, Derrick Suehs, patient engagement, patient activation, and the patient activation measure.

Project Overview

The aim of this project is to conduct a case study on furthering patient engagement in health care by investigating current research and best practice information on patient engagement and activation. Also, this project will discuss the potential benefits and disadvantages of full patient engagement from the perspectives of patients, healthcare practitioners, and health systems. The paper will be organized to examine potential benefits of patient engagement for the patient first, then the provider, and finally the health system. This is a Health Care Concept Paper that will have relevance to nearly all stakeholders in health care, from patients to practitioners to insurance companies. Patient engagement is an important topic about which there is some controversy regarding responsibility and efficacy of implementation. This project will help to educate various stakeholders in healthcare regarding the terms utilized in the patient engagement realm, potential benefits of patient engagement, limitations of engagement, and findings of the latest research on the subject. While this aim is broad, the impact of this issue is broad as well. In the end, this project will be aimed primarily at patients, healthcare providers, and administrators within care systems.

The proposed hypothesis for this capstone is two parts: 1) that patient engagement is beneficial overall for stakeholders in healthcare, especially patients, providers, and health systems, and, 2) the patient activation measure is an effective tool for measuring engagement. By exploring the various research studies, the reader will develop a more complete understanding of patient engagement.

While most healthcare organizations experience difficulties in making changes while putting patient satisfaction programs in place, the benefits outweigh the negatives. From an economic standpoint, the pay-for-performance principle instituted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is a significant vehicle for moving healthcare toward a purposeful focus on clinical quality outcomes and patient experience.

Cost is expected to increase in the short-term while healthcare organizations implement interventions to improve the patient experience. In the long-term, these costs should decrease as patient engagement becomes the norm. Organizations are working to set up systems to measure the efficacy of these efforts.
There remain challenges in improving the results of interventions. Differences in experiences for racial and ethnic groups are still reported (Welnick, et al., 2011). These differences also occur with education status, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, and other factors (Millenson, 2016).

Context

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

In March of 2010, the PPACA was signed into law (Healthcare.gov, 2010). Two of the biggest assets for consumers were the requirements for insurance plans to cover people with “pre-existing health conditions, including pregnancy, without charging more” and making it “illegal for health insurance companies to cancel your health insurance just because you get sick” (Healthcare.gov, n.d.). Additional benefits included giving younger adults the ability to stay on their parents’ insurance plans up to age 26, education about the coverage a patient is receiving, and regulations placed on insurance companies surrounding increasing premium rates (Healthcare.gov, n.d.).

One of the strategies of the PPACA is the “shifting from a reimbursement system based on the volume of services provided to one based on the value of care” (Abrams, et al., 2015). The shift to pay-for-performance has been an effective way to put an intense focus on improving quality in all elements of healthcare. Sending a “clear signal to providers that they will need to adapt quickly to incentives that reward appropriate, high-quality care and good patient outcomes” has begun to spark improvements (Abrams, et al., 2015). Since December 2015, Medicare has been planning to assess penalties to “758 hospitals that had high rates of patient safety incidents” (Prina, 2016, p. 375).

On a national level, the PPACA produced more patient-focused outcome measurements and surveys aimed at providing more opportunities for patients to be engaged in healthcare. Additionally, it contributed to the creation of PCORI – the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Willis Towers Watson, 2012). PCORI aims to not only bring the voice of the patient into research projects but to ensure research is accessible to everyone (PCORI, 2014). To accomplish this, PCORI provides funding for patient-centered research, takes suggestions for research topics from patients, and includes patients on all advisory boards.

Patient Activation and Engagement

The populations most affected by issues of patient
engagement are providers and patients. Patients of all kinds, but especially those with multiple health concerns or complex conditions, can be influenced by paternalism which subordinates a patient’s free will and informed consent to what a provider might choose. Dangers associated with the practice of paternalism include overlooking the costs associated with treatments, treatments that will not work for a patient’s lifestyle, and treatments that are more likely to cause contraindications and side effects. These consequences lead to a lack of adherence or compliance in care, be it not taking medications as prescribed or skipping lab work and followup appointments.

The historical tradition of paternalism in medicine makes it difficult for patients and providers. Health care practitioners and administrators who support the continued development of patient engagement strategies recognize that there are a vast number of roadblocks, from funding to time in the clinic to including patients on various committees. However, many researchers still believe that improving patient engagement can be accomplished (Hibbard & Greene, 2013).

Definition of Terms Used

The following definitions are provided to create an understanding of the key words utilized throughout the project.

Adherence/Compliance: Adherence and compliance are the same in the patient-centered medical world. They represent “the extent to which a person’s behaviour – taking medication, following a diet, and/or executing lifestyle changes, corresponds with agreed recommendations from a health care provider” (World Health Organization, 2003, p. 18).

Informed Consent: Informed consent depends on how competent the patient is from a cognitive standpoint to make a “voluntary choice” regarding treatment and care based on information provided to them (Appelbaum, 2007, p. 1834). This also means that patients must be provided with a substantial amount of information to make their choice, which is known as the Reasonable Patient Standard, rather than going by provider preference or coercion (De Bord, 2014).

Paternalism: Paternalism is defined as the “power and authority one person or institution exercises over another in order to confer benefits on, or prevent harm to, that person, regardless of the person’s informed consent” (Habiba, 2000). In layman’s terms, paternalism exists when a physician or other health care practitioner (nurse, medical assistant, physical therapist, and others) decides upon a course of action without any real input from the patient.

Patient Activation/Engagement: Patient Activation or Engagement describes the extent to which a patient has “the knowledge, skills, and confidence” to manage and take part in their health care (Hibbard & Gilburt, 2014, p. 3). PAM gives a number on a scale of 0-100 with higher scores representing higher levels of activation (Hibbard & Gilburt, 2014, p. 8). When a patient is more activated, their overall health tends to be better. It can play a role in “tackling health inequalities” as well (Hibbard & Gilburt, 2014, p. 4). Throughout this project, patient activation and patient engagement will be utilized interchangeably.

Patient Activation Measure: The Patient Activation Measure (PAM) is a “series of 13 statements designed to assess the extent of a patient’s activation” that the patient completes on their own (Hibbard & Gilburt, 2014, p. 8).

Shared-Decision Making: Shared-Decision Making (SDM) is a process where healthcare providers and patients work together to reach the best conclusions regarding treatments and next courses of action (Elwyn, et al., 2012, p. 1361). Both parties must share information completely and freely to fully participate in the SDM process. SDM can range from a system where patients have slightly more control to those of truly shared decisions.

Strategy, Approaches, and Challenges of This Project

The research method utilized for this capstone is the case study. First, a search throughout peer-reviewed academic journals and other reliable sources was carried out using key terms. This approach allowed for specific research into how patient engagement has been studied. The focus was more retrospective research than prospective research. While some portions of this project will be exploratory for future research, it will mostly be focused on program effects. Heavy reliance on research via the internet and in resources available via libraries will be necessary.

While case study is the ideal method for researching this project due to the time given, it has presented limitations on what could be compiled and analyzed. The planned research was based on prior studies and findings of others in the field. Some research studies were limited in scope, especially since much of the current research recognizing the importance of the subject had been conducted by one major research group – Judith Hibbard and Jessica Greene. This may limit the information available for this case study.

Case studies can be difficult to evaluate. However, this capstone focused on a scholarly work accepted by academic standards. The theories and practices discussed in this capstone identified effective ways patient engagement can influence the industry at large. Bringing new ideas and perspectives to the discussions around engagement would be valuable. Additionally, lessons learned and ideas for future research are included.

Pick Up Women’s Health This Month!

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If you take a look at the latest copy of Women’s Health magazine, you’ll see a familiar face around page 156.

two photo collage on a black background; 1-cover of the May 2018 issue of Women's Health with Anna Farris; 2-photo of Kirsten leaning on Theron’s shoulder in the magazine

T and I are in the magazine talking about how we make love work with depression and other mental illness. Our blurb is small, but it means so much to me.

Sometimes we forget the impact we have on others just by sharing our own stories. This was a much-needed reminder to keep telling my truth.

I picked up a couple extra copies, so let me know if you want one and I’ll be happy to send it out.

MisdiagKNOWsis Chat May 3rd at 3 pm ET

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Did you know the average patient with an autoimmune condition waits for FIVE YEARS for an accurate diagnosis? There are people who wait far longer, too – that’s just an average.

My pals at Clara Health and Enzyvant are hosting a Twitter chat to talk about misdiagnosis. You may remember them from the Farber Disease post.

Want to talk about misdiagnosis? You can preview the chat questions here. Make sure to join on Twitter using the tag #MisdiagKNOWsis at 3 pm ET on May 3rd.

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An Exploration of Unique Barriers in Organizational Development – and How to Combat Them

Posted on by Grayson

For the month of April, I will be sharing things I’ve written in the process of obtaining my MS in Health Care Administration which I finished up this past fall.

Organizational development (OD) is the “process of continuous diagnosis, action planning, implementation and evaluation, with the goal of transferring knowledge and skills to organizations to improve their capacity for solving problems and managing future change” (Blalock, et al., n.d.).  While this is popular within business organizations, it also has a growing following within healthcare.  With this growing popularity, though, it is important to address the additional barriers organizational development tactics face when applied to the healthcare realm.  First, let us examine the basics of OD, then barriers, and, finally, how to counteract these barriers for the most efficient use of OD within healthcare.

OD Basics

Organizational development is a path to planned change within an organization.  This change can take place in one or many areas but consists often of ideas from a wide variety of fields such as communication, interpersonal sciences, and business (Anderson, 2015, p. 2).  This is meant to be a long-term change or the use of a one-size-fits-all mentality (Anderson, 2015, p. 9).  OD developed as a way to address practices within management, quality improvement, employee involvement in change, organizational culture, learning, and ways to go about change (Anderson, 2015, pp. 25-36).  This change can vary in size, reach, continuity, and planning (Anderson, 2015, p. 67).

In order to conduct proper OD, the change agent needs to understand that organization in its current state.  This means not only understanding organizational culture but also values inherent to the organization and its employees.  These things are important as “they are the underlying beliefs that are enduring and broader than any single consulting engagement or intervention” (Anderson, 2015, p. 41).

One thing that separates OD from other forms of consulting is the power dynamic between the change agent and the client.  With many forms of consulting, either the client or the change agent is the expert and really takes the lead on anything from gathering information to final changes and evaluation (Anderson, 2015, p. 95).  With OD, however, the role of the expert is a shared one between those in the client organization and the change agent (Anderson, 2015, p. 95).

Another important distinction between OD work and consulting is gathering data.  It is an incredibly important piece of OD work.  Data gathering is very similar to the process of testing for a medical diagnosis – it is a process that takes time to do but is necessary in order to find the correct treatments for a malady (Anderson, 2015, p. 161).  In OD work, this data gathering is key.  At times, people within an organization may see employee burnout, for example, as the main problem when it is a symptom of an organizational culture issue.  In this case, data gathering reveals the real roots of the issues and can bring up additional symptoms or diagnoses that someone within the organization may not have seen.

Just like in the medical diagnosis process, one must be careful to only stick to diagnoses the data supports (Anderson, 2015, p. 168).  This is why a change agent must not necessarily be a part of an organization but from the outside.  It is easier to refrain from jumping to conclusions that support any one person and/or group if there is little to no relationship with these people.

Data gathering is not always as straightforward as simply shooting out a survey or shadowing employees.  The first step is to “determine the approach to be used” – will interviews, surveys, observations, focus groups, or less invasive measures such as environment, historical information, and documents yield the best information (Anderson, 2015, pp. 129-130, 144)?  In order to decide the best steps, one needs to examine the pros and cons to using each for each environment (Anderson, 2015, p. 148).

That said, there are different strategies for dealing with individual, team, and organization-wide changes.  In the individual realm, there tend to be fewer steps to interventions or change as “feedback is given directly to the participant” (Anderson, 2015, p. 211).  A lot of personal growth tools like personality assessments and planning can assist in these changes (Anderson, 2015, p. 214).  Coaching and mentoring are key in individual interventions, from personal to professional development.

With team improvement projects, there are more nuances to work with.  Communication, expectations, trust, and leadership are all needed.  Issues around workgroup roles and conflict come up often here as well.  Within organizations, issues also center on organizational culture and design, values and ethics, and management/training styles.

Just as with enacting change, sustaining it is not an easy task.  Most changes are harder to put in place at first due to resistance.  Still, there are many instances of people falling back into old habits after a short time of sustained change, regardless of their enthusiasm for said change.  In order to act against this possibility, continuous reinforcement and training need to occur across the organization.

Healthcare-Related Barriers

Healthcare today is full of change.  In order to stay relevant, health organizations have to undergo nearly constant changes including those in training to workflows to new equipment.  Those who work in assisting doctors also have a learning curve as many doctors do things differently.  That said, with global forces pushing “individual organizations to change accordingly in order to proceed ahead,” change does not always stick (Al-Abri, 2007).  Due to this constant change, clinic managers and others in leadership positions must focus on perseverance, correcting lapses in training/change quickly, and time with each employee (Al-Abri, 2007).

With most health organizations being larger, a focus on bureaucratic structures over any employee feedback will make it harder for changes to take place (Al-Abri, 2007).  This is an instance where culture is more important than strategy (Rick, 2012).  While important in all organizations, this is especially true in healthcare.  When employees feel valued and are engaged, they work harder and focus more on the overall mission of an organization (Kruse, 2015).

Healthcare as an industry is so involved with our mortality that it presents new problems to traditional OD ideals.  In a normal organization, engagement is important and contributes to lower employee turnover (Dickson, 2015).  In healthcare, engagement can mean the difference between life and death.  Nurse engagement is “the number one variable correlating to mortality, even beating out the number of nurses per patient” (Kruse, 2015).  The variability between engaged employees is “tied to the manager” (Kruse, 2015).  Therefore, managers who know how to create employee engagement and satisfaction actually save lives through improved patient satisfaction and care quality (Sherwood, 2013).

Many healthcare organizations, whether tied to government agencies or free-standing, lack in various qualities deemed important for employee satisfaction.  Healthcare professionals at all levels are being worked hard for low salaries and without many opportunities for advancement (Fields, 2011).  Due to the stresses of the work hours, there are poor fits between employees and managers/bosses and a general poor organizational culture (Fields, 2011).

Like within other organizations, many healthcare professionals do not necessarily see the need to take over tasks from others.  Some changes shift responsibilities from medical assistants to physicians due to changes in licensing requirements or Electronic Medical Record systems.  In these cases, physicians often do not appreciate having extra steps, especially if they perceive these tasks as beneath them.  This contributes to a major resistance to change – a combination of ideas that this change isn’t needed or productive and it requires work below their pay grade (Rick, 2013).  In many clinics, the physicians or head nurses lead the way for everyone else to follow.  If one physician isn’t following a workflow, it becomes easier for everyone else at a site to disregard it, too.

Fixing Barriers

Many healthcare organizations rely on quality improvement departments to work towards the same or similar projects as OD change agents.  While it is beneficial to have people on staff who work within various organization-specific programs, this can compromise how impartial or objective they are when working with others.  In order to have the most impartial data gathering, interpreting, and institutions of change, it is preferable to have an outsider working with departments or the organization as a whole.  This does not mean that a different OD firm needs to be used each time or even a new lead on projects, but simply separate.

Employee engagement issues are central to many of the changes that need to be implemented within healthcare organizations.  There is a high rate of turnover within healthcare fields due to low wages, long hours, poor benefits, and interpersonal issues (Pexton, 2017).  The biggest issue, then, is to solve these problems very unique to healthcare.

In order to limit turnover, employees need to feel valued.  In an ideal world, organizations would increase income while hiring more workers to address both the low wages and long hours.   Unfortunately, this isn’t a reality for many organizations with how their current setup sits.  Even if an organization does not necessarily have the funding to increase income or hire more employees, there are still steps organizations can take to improve employee satisfaction.

Creating interpersonal groups that do fun things off-the-clock together can be beneficial.  The Pediatrics group at the East Clinic at UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin, enjoy spending time with each other’s families, attending events together, and more (Plumb, MD, 2017).  This helps to create a more amiable and supportive setting amongst providers at the clinic (Plumb, MD, 2017).

Improving communication skills will help to improve a feeling of camaraderie as well (Pexton, 2017).  This will additionally help to serve the organization well during any periods of change.  Effective communication will help with the patient side of the world as well.  When communication skills improve overall, there are fewer communication mix-ups with patients and fewer medical errors (Pexton, 2017).  Patients will be more satisfied with their care as well (Pexton, 2017).  With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the focus of healthcare is supposed to be more on quality (Sebelius, 2013).  Whether or not the ACA will be repealed remains to be seen, but the strides made in a focus on quality and patient-centered care are incredible.

By working on these simple steps to provide employees and patients more security and connection, it has a side effect of being able to improve the organization overall while setting it up to be the most accepting of change.  This also helps employees to become more invested in the change process, bringing their expertise to potential change. 

Conclusion

Organizational development (OD) is a fantastic interdisciplinary tool to guide people in change agent positions and organizations through the change process.  While OD is an effective tool, healthcare organizations face unique challenges in regards to OD change strategies.  There are challenges unique to OD work in healthcare that make it difficult to enact and sustain change.  These barriers can be overcome by preparation, improved employee satisfaction, and communication skills.

References

Al-Abri, R. (2007). Managing Change in Healthcare. Oman Medical Journal, 22(3), 9-10. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3294155/

Anderson, D. L. (2015). Organization Development: The Process of Leading Organizational Change (3 ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

Blalock, S. J., Bone, L., Brewer, N. T., Butterfoss, F. D., Chamption, V. L., Epstein, R. E., . . . Wilson, N. (n.d.). Organizational Development Theory. (K. Glanz, B. K. Rimer, & K. Viswanath, Editors) Retrieved from Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, And Practice: http://www.med.upenn.edu/hbhe4/part4-ch15-organizational-development-theory.shtml

Dickson, G. (2015, November 18). 10 Dead Simple Ways to Improve Your Company Culture. Retrieved from Bonusly: http://blog.bonus.ly/10-dead-simple-ways-improve-company-culture/

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dark blue background with white text: " Have You Heard of Farber Disease ? " above an illustration of a knee joint above teal text "Not Standing Still's Disease"

Have You Heard of Farber Disease?

Posted on by Grayson

Have you heard of Farber Disease? If not, you’re not alone. It’s often misdiagnosed as juvenile arthritis, though, so it’s definitely a condition to learn more about.

What is Farber Disease?

Farber disease is a very rare disease that has had less than 100 confirmed cases. Also called Acid Ceramidase Deficiency or Farber’s Lipogranulomatosis, Farber is a metabolic disorder. That means the body doesn’t break down or use lipids – AKA fats – the way it should.

Those lipids stack up around the body, especially around the joints. With swollen joints and hepatosplenomegaly, it’s no wonder this condition is mistaken for JA – especially SJIA.

Other symptoms may include:

  • Hoarse voice
  • Pain
  • Fever
  • Failure to thrive
  • Nodules or bumps under the skin
  • Central Nervous System issues
  • Respiratory issues
  • Inflammation
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Seizures
  • Vision issues
  • Diminished muscle tone
  • Developmental delay

Symptoms are generally, but not always, noticed in the first few weeks of life.

Misdiagnosis is a major issue

We already know misdiagnosis is a rampant issue within healthcare. In Farber Disease, doctors misdiagnose 70% of kids with JA. That means a longer road to an accurate diagnosis and proper treatment. To make it worse, there are several kinds of Farber Disease.

What can we do?

Thankfully, there is a genetic test for Farber Disease. If you’re interested in getting you or your child tested, click here.

You can learn more about Farber Disease on the Rare Diseases website.

This is a sponsored post. The information within the post was provided in part by Clara Health.