cover story one
Health Capability
Advancing the potential to flourish and thrive
JENNIFER J. PRAH, PHD, MSC, MA, MSL
Medical science is evolving at an unprecedented rate. Advances in diagnostics, surgery, pharmaceuticals, technology, and more, are developing more expeditiously than the ability of the health care delivery system to keep pace. In some cases, before an important advance has become accepted best practice, new advances in the same field have already occurred. Fundamental approaches to health have not received the same attention.
cover story two
Improving Psychiatric Health: Addressing the challenges
BY Todd Archbold, LSW, MBA
Bryan was deep into their annual departmental audit, a process he was familiar with after eight years with the firm. He was a rising star in the company, and this year he was a new manager with several reportees and additional financial incentives at stake dependent upon a successful year. Bryan had been up late several days in a row, skimping on meals and getting little quality sleep. On this particular day, the team struggled to get information from a third-party online database and tech support was unresponsive. With a deadline looming, Bryan began to feel dizzy and tightness in his chest.
Health Care Policy
Legislative Session Overview: Examining some health care bills
BY Zachary Brunnert
Much like the rest of the country, the Minnesota Legislature “returned to office” in a hybrid fashion at the end of January. With the Senate operating mostly in-person, the House’s operations continued to be split in-person and virtual, with floor sessions in-person and committee hearings being held online. As session has progressed, the House announced the further reopening of offices in late March, and in another step towards normalcy, Rathskeller Café reopened their doors in the building. With lawmakers and advocates again filling the halls of the state house, the hustle and bustle has returned to St. Paul.
interview
Pursuing better health and better healthcare
Janet Silversmith, MA, CEO
Minnesota Medical Association
administration
Removing barriers to care: The role and impact of health plan care coordinators
By Amy Rewey, RN, BSN, PHN, Florence Okoampa, Kathleen Keogh, APRN, CNP, Diane Anderson, RN, BSN, CCM and Heather Quist, RN
In the shared pursuit of improving health outcomes, reducing costs and enhancing the patient experience, health plans and their partners have realized that a collaborative approach to care management is far more efficient than going it alone.
Gastroenterology
Microbiome Health: Recognizing a symbiotic organ
By Byron Vaughn, MD and Carolyn Graziger
Medicine has long recognized that the health of the gut is related to overall human health. We have known that the function of a healthy gut, from stomach through the colon, was important to a range of health conditions and status. Shakespeare recognized the stomach as the “Storehouse and the shop of the whole body” (Coriolanus).
