Duke Health chief to head Institute of Medicine

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Durham, N.C. Dr. Victor Dzau, who serves as president and chief executive of Duke University Health System, has been named as the next president of the Institute of Medicine, which plays a lead role in advising Congress on health matters.

Dzau, whose research was key in the development of modern cardiovascular drugs, also serves as chancellor of health affairs for Duke University and is a professor in the School of Medicine. He will leave his various roles at the university on June 30.

In a staff memo announcing the appointment, Duke University leaders described Dzau as a visionary who has helped transform the field of health care. In his 10 years at Duke, Dzau has been responsible for a number of new initiatives, including the Duke Cancer Institute, and has led a system-wide conversion of clinical information systems into a single, streamlined digital health record for each patient.

Dzau is also credited with having a progressive approach to faculty development and being the driving force behind Dukes global outreach in the field of medicine. He established the Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School.

Under Victors leadership, Duke Medicines reputation as a national and global leader in academic medicine has continued to grow, the memo stated. Duke Medicine has consistently ranked among the top academic health centers in the world, and has been recognized for exceptional patient-centered care, cutting edge basic and clinical research, innovative care delivery, and improving community and global health.

Dzau will join the Institute of Medicine on July 1, succeeding current president Harvey Fineberg.

Established in 1970, the Institute of Medicine is the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences. It is a nonprofit, independent organization that provides scientific analysis and recommendations on health issues.

Dzau said he's convinced providing affordable health care to every American is not only doable, it will happen.

"We have a goal. We need a good road map to get there, and that's what the journey is about the next few years," he said.

Dzau said he was 10 when he first dreamed of being a doctor. His family was fleeing communist China at the time.

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Duke Health chief to head Institute of Medicine

Married to Medicine Season 2 Welcomes New Cast Members Lisa Nicole Cloud and Dr. Heavenly Kimes: Watch the Drama …

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Sounds like these ladies are going to need CPR after season 2 of Married to Medicine premieres on Bravo. The reality show that focuses on doctors and the wives of doctors in the Atlanta, Georgia area has brought back most of its original cast, including Queen Bee Mariah Huq alongside her former bestie Quad Webb-Lunceford, Toya Bush-Harris, Dr. Jacqueline Walters, and Dr. Simone Whitmore. But they're about to be joined by entrepreneur Lisa Nicole Cloud and Dr. Heavenly Kimes, making for an even more drama-packed season.

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Dr. Heavenly is both a dentist and married to a doctor, and has been described as "larger than life." The other newbie, Lisa Nicole, is a successful entrepreneur and fashion designer.

Toya Bush Harris, Heavenly Kimes, Lisa Nicole Cloud, Jacqueline Walters, Quad Webb Lunceford, Simone Whitmore, Mariah Huq Credit: Alex Martinez/Bravo

Their additions will bring the show "sass, class, and one of the most explosive -- and brutally honest -- confrontations yet," Bravo promises in a press release.

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From new homes to adopting children to repairing shattered friendships, these women of the medical community will have their work cut out for them in season 2.

Married to Medicine's premiere in March 2013 brought in more than 1.9 million viewers, which was the network's highest-rated non-franchise/non-spinoff freshman series since 2003. In a world of Real Housewives spin offs, the fresh new show provides a whole new source of chaos for reality TV-happy fans.

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Married to Medicine season 2 premieres Sunday, April 6 at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo. Watch the trailer now!

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Married to Medicine Season 2 Welcomes New Cast Members Lisa Nicole Cloud and Dr. Heavenly Kimes: Watch the Drama ...

Study Outlines Ways to Boost Staff Buy-in to PCMH

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When a family medicine practice adopts the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) as a care model, that practice often undergoes change that impacts every member of its staff. That's according to recently published research that sought to understand and illustrate how practices undergoing this transformation achieved buy-in and full engagement among all staff members.

"Transitioning to a PCMH from more traditional models is not as simple as it may seem at face value," said William Bleser, M.S.P.H., research assistant for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Aligning Forces for Quality project and the Center for Health Care and Policy Research at Pennsylvania State University in University Park and corresponding author of the study. "It does involve comprehensive organizational change, and part of that entails changing the behavior and habits of people working in the medical practice."

From physicians to front office staff, employees who buy into the PCMH model are more motivated to ensure a successful transformation, so how do practices make sure staff members are on board? Bleser and his fellow researchers identified 13 strategies that can be used to obtain staff buy-in to PCMH transformation. The tactics are outlined in "Strategies for Achieving Whole-Practice Engagement and Buy-in to the Patient-Centered Medical Home,"(annfammed.org) published in the January/February issue of Annals of Family Medicine.

Researchers analyzed 136 individual interviews and transcripts from seven focus groups conducted with personnel from 20 primary care practices in Pennsylvania, all of which had participated in a state-led, multipayer-supported PCMH initiative that focused on chronic care. Clinicians, medical assistants, administrators, care managers, nurses, patient educators, front office personnel and other staff members participated in the interviews. Researchers evaluated the responses to determine key strategies that promote buy-in among all members of the practice team.

The strategies fell into three domains:

"A prerequisite of transforming, from the leadership perspective, is having all the leadership on board, in sync and putting out consistent clear communication -- what we call an internal campaign," Bleser said.

In fact, seven of the 13 strategies focused on communication. Respondents reported a desire to have access to practice leadership for support and feedback. Frequent meetings during the first year of implementation provided opportunities for education, feedback and benchmarking.

In particular, study respondents said that technical guidance to help the practice meet the goals of a PCMH was useful. For example, respondents appreciated training on how to track chronic disease in patients and conduct motivational interviewing.

Furthermore, when educating staff about the PCMH model, respondents specifically said it was useful to hear why the practice was making the transition, Bleser explained. It's important for practice leaders to highlight the benefits to the practice in terms of patient experiences, staff experiences and, if applicable, increased revenue, he noted.

Charismatic champions can help move practices toward PCMH recognition, agreed Peter Cronholm, M.D., assistant professor and director of the Mixed Methods Research Lab in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, where much of his research has focused on the PCMH. "What I've seen across multiple practices is the need to have the right people on the bus," he said.

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Study Outlines Ways to Boost Staff Buy-in to PCMH

Doctor Murdered On Antigua – American University of Antigua, AUA, lawsuit – Video

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Doctor Murdered On Antigua - American University of Antigua, AUA, lawsuit
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AUA Student Sexually Assaulted – American University of Antigua, AUA, lawsuit – Video

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Women Seeking Relief from Chronic Pain Invited to Participate in Study at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

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Newswise New Brunswick, NJ A chronic syndrome called vulvodynia that affects from four to seven percent of women is being studied by physicians at The Womens Health Institute at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, part of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in hopes of alleviating sometimes excruciating pain. The purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness of gabapentin, a medication that is FDA-approved as a treatment for nerve-related pain and other conditions, when used as an extended release therapy. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health (1R01HD065740-01A1 and 1RC1HD063902-01).

Vulvodynia is a pain that occurs on the external part of a womans vaginal area, known as the vulva. Symptoms include constant vulvar pain or pain caused by touch from activities including prolonged sitting, exercise, sexual activity, tight-fitting clothing and other daily activities. Study applicants will receive clinical exams by physicians in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School to diagnose vulvodynia and determine eligibility for the 16-week study. Eligible participants must be female and at least 18 years old, and have ongoing vulvar pain due to activities or touch and have no other cause of pain such as from an infection. Physicians will help diagnose applicants who are ineligible for the study and refer them to an appropriate physician for treatment.

Eligible participants will receive either the study medication or a placebo (a pill, which has no treatment) for the first eight weeks. During the second eight-week period, participants will receive the opposite treatment. Medication will be provided at no charge and participants will be compensated at the completion of each of the six required clinical visits.

For more information on eligibility and this study, contact Diane Dawicki, LPN, study coordinator, by phone at 732-235-7353 or e-mail, dawickdm@rwjms.rutgers.edu.

More information about the study, which also is being conducted at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and the University of Rochester, is available at http://www.hopeformypain.org.

About Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School As one of the nation's leading comprehensive medical schools, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, part of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. In cooperation with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school's principal affiliate, they comprise New Jersey's premier academic medical center. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 other hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region.

Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 20 basic science and clinical departments, and hosts centers and institutes including The Cardiovascular Institute, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The medical school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels for more than 1,500 students on its campuses in New Brunswick and Piscataway, and provides continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education programs. To learn more about Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, visit rwjms.rutgers.edu. Find us online at facebook.com/RWJMedicalSchool and twitter.com/RWJMS. --#--

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Women Seeking Relief from Chronic Pain Invited to Participate in Study at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School