Primary Care

Event Reporting and Patient Safety Optimization

Increased reporting of medication safety events by all practitioners within our health system. Lack of knowledge related to the impact that reporting all medication events, regardless of level of harm that may...

CPD 7: Crosstalk - Communicating and Addressing Patient Challenges

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a treatable, chronic disease that often involves cycles of relapse and remission due to complex interactions in the brain, heredities, and an individual’s environment...

CPD 4: Medications Used to Treat Opiate Use Disorder​

Substance use disorder (OUD) is a treatable, chronic disease that often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Individuals who are under the influence of these substances often engage in risky and...

CPD 5: Powering Recovery - Other Substance Use Disorder Treatments

According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an...

The Nuts and Bolts of Implementing the Expanded Role of the RN in Primary Care

Many organizations are on the journey to implement and enhance the roles of the PC RN. This journey is filled with both barriers and facilitators. There is a lack of understanding of other roles on the care...

Leveraging Physician Extenders in the Infusion Center

The number one underlying reason for ED visits in the US is cancer.  Presenting to the ED results in hospital admission about 70% of the time for cancer patients. Leveraging physician extenders...

Palliative Cancer Care: What Are You Waiting For?

Palliative care is the medical subspecialty focused on providing relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of serious illness. Palliative care services include focused management of symptoms, pain and...

Optimizing Genetic Counselor Access in Oncology Care

Genetics is a continually growing and evolving field in oncology care and across healthcare. Genetic counselors are scarce in many communities and community hospitals throughout the United States and within...

Maintaining CoC Accreditation Amidst COVID-19

The Commission on Cancer is delivering on their commitment to quality cancer care by enhancing new programs, products and services and responding to changes in work resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The...

Caring for Transgender Patients

To maintain regulatory compliance, it is important for covered entities to understand guidelines from Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, as well as documented disparities specifically related to the...

Mental Health in Cancer Care

In 2020 the National Cancer Institute identified that people who have cancer and a mental health diagnosis live longer if they receive mental health treatment. Better outcomes are related to the...

The COVID-19 Recession: How the Pandemic Has Affected Kentucky’s Economy

The pandemic has taken a significant toll on Kentucky’s economy. All major sectors reported employment declines as businesses reduced operations to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. While Kentucky...

Qualitative and Quantitative Measures Associated with Community Hospitals Participating in the Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network

The majority of cancer patients in the USA are treated at community hospitals (Petrelli NJ, 2010). This percentage is very likely even higher for common malignancies such as breast or colon cancer that can be...

The Changing Healthcare Landscape

Throughout history, health care policy has determined how care is provided to patients in the United States. In an ever-changing world, it is important to understand the trends in policy as well as how it is...

Community Engagement to Implement a Lung Cancer Screening Education Program in Western Kentucky

Lung cancer (LC) is the deadliest cancer worldwide. In the U.S, Kentucky has the highest LC mortality disproportionately affecting racial/ethnic/minority/rural populations. Low dose computed tomography (LDCT)...

The Effect of Pandemics on Cancer Patients: Ethical Issues

Oncologists are currently dealing with an unprecedented clinical context due to the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 because in 1918 -- the last time there was a similar global pandemic affecting American...

Taking ACTION to Train the Next Generation of Cancer Professionals from Appalachian Kentucky

Kentucky has the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates in the US with the greatest burden of the disease occurring in the Appalachian region of the state. As an example of the cancer disparities in this...

HPV - Value of Champions in a Healthcare System

More than 80% of the US population will be infected with the human papilloma virus (HPV) at some point in their life. The majority of cervical cancers are caused by an HPV infection. Both screening with...

Telehealth – the New Normal in Healthcare

In March, 2020, most health systems were forced to stop performing elective medical procedures and patients were reluctant to come to a medical center for outpatient clinic visits, fearing they would be...

Don’t Get Lost in the Data Weeds

Too often, when healthcare public relations employees knock on the door of another department director, they are met with hesitation as to what they are about to be asked. Public relations employees are...

Thoracic Oncology Business Model – Saving Lives & Driving Value

Lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancer along with high mortality rate. One of these reasons is because typically patients are diagnosed with late stage cancer. By having a comprehensive early...

The Changing Landscape of Oncology Navigation

Patient navigation has continued to evolve and transform along with the changing healthcare environment since its inception. Dr Freeman’s use of patient navigators to educate on the value of early...

CPD 2: Risky Business - Screening Patients for Substance Use Disorder

According to the Substance Use Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) nearly 80% of people with an opiate use disorder do not receive treatment. Because of this more healthcare providers need to screen...

CPD 3: Help Me Find My Way - Referring Patients to Treatment & Resources

According to the Substance Use Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) nearly 80% of people with an opiate use disorder do not receive treatment. More healthcare providers need to screen for substance...

Weighing the Odds: LAN MAT Risks & Benefits

Current primary care practice sites are rarely providing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) as part of the comprehensive care needed for patients who suffer from substance use disorder (SUD) and are seen in...

Domestic Violence

Portal Hypertension

Gastroenterology is a new specialty that has been re-introduced to Ephraim McDowell Health. As a result, patients with specific GI-issues are now more frequently cared for in the Regional Medical Center. Staff...

At the Heart of Telehealth: Extending the Reach of Diabetes Care and Education

Telehealth has been shown to be a very effective method for delivery of diabetes care and education in various geographic areas with patients across the lifespan. The authors...

Prediabetes and Metabolic Risk Factors

Prediabetes affects 1 in 3 adults in the US population and the majority of patients impacted by the disease do not even know they have this condition. Even if patients are not aware of their diagnosis it can...

Glucose Lowering Medications and CVD Risk (SGLT2 Inhibitors, GLP Receptor Agonists)

Medications used to treat diabetes have rapidly increasing emergent evidence about their impact on cardiovascular risk and heart failure. The recommendations and FDA approved indications for these therapies...

Antiplatelet Therapy and CVD Risk Reduction

Recent studies have more clearly defined the risks and benefits of aspirin for primary prevention of CVD in diabetic patients necessitating review. This video addresses the risk and benefits. 

Heart Healthy Dietary Patterns for Diabetes

Diabetes is a major cardivascular risk factor, with lifestyle management forming the cornerstone of prevention and management

AADE7 Self-Care Behaviors

Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES), delivered by an interdisciplinary team with specialized training, is an essential component of diabetes medical treatment. DSMES improves A1C, reduces...

Children/Adolescents with Diabetes and Heart Health

A diagnosis of pre- diabetes is often delayed or entirely missed in the pediatric population. An early diagnosis of pre-diabetes allows for early intervention, varied options for management and improved...

Women with Diabetes and Heart Health

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of morbidity/mortality in type 2 DM. 

Seniors with Prediabetes and Heart Health

Prediabetes affect 1 in 2 older adults. Proactive care of older adults with prediabetes can effectively reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes. This educational panel discussion shares tools from a...

The Role of the Ambulatory Care Pharmacist in the Management of COPD and Transition of Care in a Community Hospital

COPD is the 3rd leading cause of death in the US. $50 billion was spent in 2010 - 70% attributed to exacerbations. Each COPD admission/readmission costs approximately $8,400-$11,100. Barriers to quality...

COPD Guidelines

The GOLD workgroup released updated treatment guidelines for COPD in the spring of 2019. In order to provide Kentuckians with optimal COPD treatment outcomes, practitioners across the state should be able to...

Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)

SBIRT is an approach to the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders, SUD. It is a valuable strategy that is often underused in healthcare. The purpose of this activity is to illustrate the benefits...

Navigating Patients through Cancer Screening and Diagnostic Testing

Screening is a procedure that takes place before the patient has symptoms or shows any sign of disease. Some screening exams can be uncomfortable, and just the idea of being tested can cause anxiety in a...

Community Needs Assessment for Cancer Navigators

Communities are typically defined by a geographic area; however, they can also be based on shared interests or characteristics such as religion, race, age, or occupation
People within a community come...

Process of Navigation

Patient navigators guide patients through cancer care, which is often very complicated. The navigator guides the patient using a process, based on a community needs assessment that improves the patient...

Financial Issues in Cancer Navigation for Appalachia

Patients in Appalachia face unique barriers to accessing and navigating complex health care delivery systems due to distance from care and life circumstances. There is a shortage of trained patient...

Communication in Patient Navigation in Appalachia

The goal of this module is to provide you with the information on how to improve your personal communication skills in the performance of patient navigation in Appalachia. We will talk about enhancing...

Culturally Effective Patient Navigation in Appalachia

Health professionals and others providing care and support to the Appalachian population need to have knowledge and appreciation of the Appalachian culture.  Training is needed to increase awareness of...