3 minute read There is no question that precision medicine, defined as the use of genetic, genomic, and epigenetic information to ‘personalize’ therapeutic strategies is creating unprecedented opportunities for improving health care delivery (Denny et al., 2021). As the cost of genomic sequencing decreases, the speed at which such technologies are transitioning from ‘bench-to-bedside’ has […]
3 minute read Concentration is a scarce commodity in healthcare delivery. Although our systems are flush with data, we can only process a finite amount of information to make clinical decisions for engaging, treating, and monitoring patients in our catchment areas. We screen and triage patients as stewards of scarce resources using measures that we […]
2 minute read The Cambridge dictionary defines mathematics as a system for the study of numbers, shapes, and space (Cambridge.org, n.d.). While most of us conceptualize mathematics as a method for computing complex functions, the true beauty of numbers lies in their ability to transcend cultural and linguistic barriers. Simply put, mathematics is the universal […]
3 minute read Spreading the gospel of care integration is not for sprinters. To be sure, this game is for long distance runners. One of the beauties of integration is that individual clinics and care systems can use whatever model meets the needs of their patients and matches their available resources. This variability, though, also […]
5 minute read. Original post here. In 2018, I had a sweet setup for my work commute. My friend, who also worked downtown, would pick me up at my house, use the carpool lane on the highway, and drop me off in front of my office building. When I offered to pay for gas, he […]
2 minute read The role of mindfulness meditation in reducing stress, anxiety and depression is well established, with a 2017 meta-analysis linking such practices to better control of the sympathetic nervous system (Pascoe et al., 2017). Key to the practice of mindfulness is present-state awareness, also referred to as flow (Davis & Ludwig, 2018). In […]
3 minute read I recently received an emotionally laden call from a close friend of mine, Jessica, that sucked the air right out of me. Jessica is the mother of “Chrissy,” a 30-year-old woman with profound intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who lives at home. My agency has provided Chrissy with supports in Jessica’s home […]
3 minute read If neurons are the brain’s rock stars, then glia are its supporting cast. Although neurons are the only brain cells that can transmit electrical signals, glia maintain energy homeostasis via glycogen storage and regulation (Dienel & Carlson, 2019) and are intimately involved in the production and regulation of two essential neurotransmitters: GABA […]
5 minute read We work with children, adolescents, and adults with chronic conditions: mental illness, medical conditions, intellectual or developmental disabilities. We do the very best we can to treat the patient, but what about their siblings? What about them? The first memory Nathan has is being in the hospital. He says, “I pretty well […]
3 minute read Behavioral economics, as proposed by Kahneman and Tversky, was created in response to neoclassical theories that endorse rational decision-making (Reuter & Montag, 2016). According to Nobel laureate, Daniel Kahneman, people make decisions based on heuristics and biases, which, depending on the situation, may or may not yield the greatest gain (Kahneman, 2011). […]
5 minute read. Original post link. Nominated for five Academy Awards, “Amour” is a film about love and death. (Read no further if you haven’t seen the film and don’t want to know who dies and how.) The setting is Paris, the language French, but any resemblance to a conventional French film about light-hearted romance […]
5 minute read In the pre-Covid years, when I was the family caregiver for my mother with mild dementia and chronic pain, I became the point person for her home-based care team. I was forever on the phone managing the shifting schedules of her home health aides and receiving instructions from her home-based physical therapists […]
5 minute read In 1974 Sue delivered two beautiful identical twin daughters. They were the “talk of the hospital,” she says. They were still talking days later, but for different reasons, when the girls had their first seizure in the nursery. At three months, Kaylie and Kylie were diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. The […]
5 minute read Heart disease and cancer continue to be the biggest leaders for US deaths in 2020.1 Heart disease led the way at 650,000 while cancer was just shy of 600,000. One common risk factor is obesity which is also correlated with the development of other diseases such as type II diabetes and hypertension. […]
3 minute read In 2012, only one third of all United States adults met the criteria for metabolic syndrome.1 In recent years this number has increased drastically. Today, it is estimated that only about 12% of Americans are metabolically healthy. Certain factors may put an individual at a higher risk of being diagnosed with metabolic […]
2 minute read It is no surprise that pandemic-related isolation has, for many, had pathological consequences. Hardly a day passes without some mention in the media of anxiety and depression. What has received less attention is how COVID-19 affected our furry friends. For my cat, Goober, it has been the greatest thing to ever happen […]
Five Minute Read We were curious about how our members utilize social media and connectivity tools, so we asked and they answered. The results are fascinating and will help us plan future efforts to support networking amongst the members of our association, the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association (CFHA). Why should you care? Well, read on […]
3 minute read The human brain constitutes about two percent of body mass yet consumes approximately 20% of available blood sugar (Mergenthaler et al., 2013). Unlike other major energy consumers such as muscle and liver cells, neurons store very little glucose, certainly not enough to avoid a shortage (Dienel & Rothman, 2019). In addition, while […]
