cover story one
Moral Injury in Health Care
A growing concern
By Wendy Dean, MD
A few weeks ago, at the end of a talk about clinician distress, a physician in the audience stood up and said, “No one’s medical school application says they want to maximize profits for health systems. All of us – ok, except maybe one or two in every class who are mercenary – wanted to help people, and when we can’t do that anymore, it’s excruciating.” The landscape of medicine has changed dramatically in the past two decades with health system consolidation, vertical integration, and a shift to physician employment. It’s important to understand how those changes impact physicians so we, as a profession, can respond appropriately.
cover story two
Treating Rare Disease: New legislation brings hope
Byrica Barnes, MA, CCC-SLP
Sheldon Berkowitz, MD, FAAP
Kris Ann P. Schultz, MD
No doubt in medical school courses on human anatomy and disease pathology you heard the adage “when you hear hoofbeats look for horses and not zebras”. It was a phrase intended as a caution for young doctors to resist the temptation to overlook the most obvious diagnosis for a statistically unlikely rare one.
architecture
Trauma-Informed Design: New directions in health care architecture
By Todd Medd, AIA, & Tracy Nicholson
Trauma has a lifelong impact on health. Whether direct or indirect, experienced in childhood or as an adult, it often leads to chronic health conditions. These can be developed through health-risk behavior and cause things such as heart and liver diseases, substance abuse, PTSD and depression. These are just a few of the ways trauma has a down stream impact and why it should not be treated only in the midst of a crisis..
interview
Making Health Care More Accessible
Ruth Richardson, JD, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States
Engineering
The Inflation Reduction Act and Health Care: Changing how to build medical facilities
By Mark Bradby, PE
There’s good news for health care facility administrators eager to make the buildings they manage and oversee more energy-efficient, and it comes in the form of fresh federal legislation. Passed in August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentivizes private citizens, local municipalities, building owners, architects and engineers, large companies and not-for-profit organizations to reduce carbon emissions, modernize existing infrastructure and increase the country’s energy security.
