cover story one
The Moral Law Within
Care beyond medical services
By JULIA JOSEPH-DI CAPRIO, MD, MPH
A significant part of each of our health is determined by what happens outside of a health care office or hospital. Some estimates suggest that as much as 80% of health status can be attributed to non-medical factors. This is why medical care alone is insufficient for achieving better health outcomes. I am a pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist. From the time I started working in health care, I was always interested in the context in which the patients I served existed; how their health was affected by what would now be called the social drivers of health.
cover story two
Care Coordination: Improving patient satisfaction and engagement
Bonnie LaPlante, MHA, RN
Care coordination has great potential to make a difference in the lives of Minnesotans. Many organizations have incorporated the care coordinator role within their business models with the purpose of bringing value and support to the people they serve. These individuals may be assigned to or contacted by a care coordinator (maybe with a different title but with the same purpose) from a variety of organizations connected to their medical or social services:
Medicine and the Law
The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission: Expanding your practice opportunities
BY Marschall S. Smith
The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission (IMLCC) was born from an idea proposed at the April 2013 Federation of State Medical Boards’ meeting of the House of Delegates, when a resolution was adopted to formally explore the creation of a new physician licensure system. It was based on a simple question, with a complex answer:
interview
Improving the Experience of Health Care
Hilary Marden-Resnik, President and CEO
UCare
Administration
The Minnesota Rare Disease Advisory Council: A new resource for patients and clinicians
BY Erica Barnes, Ma, CCC-SLP
The FDA defines a rare disease as “a disease or condition that affects less than 200,000 people in the United States.” When people hear the term a “rare disease,” they understandably assume that the disease affects only a small number of people. And while that is true for individual diseases, when the over 7,000 rare diseases are considered collectively, they affect a significant portion of the population.
Health Care Policy
Physician Advocacy: You are needed now
BY PETER DEHNEL, MD
In the late 1990’s, the indoor air quality that we all experienced in public places was a much less favorable experience than it is today. Indoor cigarette smoking was freely allowed, with there being at most “smoking sections” that somehow magically expected secondhand smoke to stay within the boundaries of that section. It was aesthetically unappealing as well as being a significant health risk to those exposed to it, especially on a regular basis.
