Making the DNA Connection
St. Jude Partners to ID Genetic Changes Resulting in Childhood Cancer
During an unprecedented Memphis winter by contemporary standards, St. Jude researchers were connecting on another unprecedented event: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis announced a collaboration to identify the genetic changes that expose some of the world’s deadliest childhood cancers... Read More



Current West TN Medical News

HEALTHCARE LEADER: Steven H. Burkett -  CEO, UT Medical Group, Inc.
HEALTHCARE LEADER: Steven H. Burkett - CEO, UT Medical Group, Inc.
When Steven Burkett was working in Memphis as a parole officer for the Tennessee Department of Corrections on the heels of college graduation, he was eyeing a career in medicine.
"I wanted to go to medical school, but chemistry tripped me up," said Burkett, who joined UT Medical Group (then Faculty Medical Practice Corporation) in Memphis in the mid-1970s as a department manager.

 
Taking Hope to Haiti
Taking Hope to Haiti
Le Bonheur Team Delivers Relief to Earthquake Victims
Though there were countless patients Dr. Sunny Anand’s team from Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center treated during their two-week stay in Haiti last month, one remains indelibly etched in his memory. Anand described him as an older gentleman who’d sustained serious injuries to his leg from falling debris during the earthquake.

 
Medical Economics: Managing Overhead
Particularly in today’s medical practice, controlling costs is among the most important management functions.
Poor processes or cost controls prohibit a practice operating efficiently. If physicians do not receive paychecks in line with their productivity, it is time to take corrective action.

 
Finding Money in the Microbiology Laboratory
While several laboratory sections are very straightforward in coding and billing, such as chemistry and hematology, the micro lab has numerous "add on" procedures that are routinely performed to complete the culture report. Frequently, add on charges are never captured.
 
Readying for Another Round of Audits | Medicaid Integrity Program, MIP, Medicaid Integrity Contractors, MICs, federal audits, CMS, Health Integrity, Tennessee Hospital Association, Bass, Berry & Sims, Gwyn Walters, Anna Grizzle
Readying for Another Round of Audits
Medicaid Integrity Program Audits Coming Soon to Tennessee
Just when you thought you were beginning to get a handle on RAC ... here comes MIP, ZPIC and OIG. More than just another round of the federal government’s favorite game of "Guess the Acronym," these particular letters could spell big trouble for providers across the nation.

 



Oncology Focus

Making the DNA Connection | St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital-Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project, William E. Evans, Larry J. Shapiro
Making the DNA Connection
St. Jude Partners to ID Genetic Changes Resulting in Childhood Cancer
During an unprecedented Memphis winter by contemporary standards, St. Jude researchers were connecting on another unprecedented event: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis announced a collaboration to identify the genetic changes that expose some of the world’s deadliest childhood cancers.

 
Mapping Out a Plan of Attack | Cancer, Oncology, Cancer Research, The Cancer Genome Atlas, TCGA, genomic research, National Cancer Institute, NCI, National Human Genome Research Institute, NHGRI, National Institutes of Health, NIH
Mapping Out a Plan of Attack
The Cancer Genome Atlas Provides Repository for Data, Discoveries
The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) is a comprehensive effort to create a data repository for the discoveries and findings of more than 150 of the nation’s top researchers who are working in concert on specific cancer types. These scientists, who are based out of more than two dozen renowned institutions, are systematically mapping genomic changes to create a cancer atlas accessible to all who are searching for better methods to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.

 
Making Headway in Brain Cancer | Glioblastoma Multiforme, GBM, The Cancer Genome Atlas, TCGA, D. Neil Hayes, brain cancer subtypes, Proneural, Neural, Classical, Mesenchymal
Making Headway in Brain Cancer
TCGA Data Generates New Findings for Glioblastoma Multiforme
Through the work of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), researchers have confirmed the most common form of malignant brain cancer in adults, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), isn’t one disease as once believed but is, instead, four distinct molecular subtypes.

 



Practice Management Focus

HITECH Act…Are You in Compliance?
HITECH Act…Are You in Compliance?
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is a year old, and its latest impact on healthcare is the implementation of new regulations on physician practices that expand privacy and security requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). As a part of the stimulus package, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) adds a rule requiring physicians, health plans, and other covered entities to notify affected individuals when their “unsecured” protected health information (PHI) is breached.

 
Practice Managers Navigate Labyrinth Maze | Steven Burkett, UT Medical Group
Practice Managers Navigate Labyrinth Maze
UT Medical Group CEO Discusses Challenges, Changes
Managing the rate of change in healthcare has been the most challenging aspect of the job for practice managers, said Steven Burkett, CEO of UT Medical Group, one of the southeast’s largest practice management groups.

 
Disruptive Behavior is Bad for Patients | Disruptive behavior in medicine, American College of Physician Executives, Barry Silbaugh, Gerald Hickson, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy
Disruptive Behavior is Bad for Patients
Survey Reveals Troubling Conduct in the Healthcare Environment
Being a good member of a team means playing well with others, but a recent survey by the American College of Physician Executives reveals that disruptive behavior by professional members of healthcare teams compromises patient safety, undermines cooperation and makes going to work a miserable experience.

 



Practitioner Spotlight

PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT: Archie Wright, DO
PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT: Archie Wright, DO
For Mississippi native, Archie Wright, DO, there was only one Jackson, and that was the capital of Mississippi. But life can take some funny turns and for this Mississippi boy, that turn was northeast to a smaller Jackson that afforded him the opportunity to focus on his family and the needs of his oncology patients.

 



Trusted Advisors




Cataracts From Antidepressants?
Title: Cataracts From Antidepressants?
Category: Health News
Created: 3/15/2010 10:15:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 3/15/2010 10:15:36 AM Posted Monday, March 15, 2010 2:00 am CDT

New Plavix Warning: Lack of Effect in Many People
Title: New Plavix Warning: Lack of Effect in Many People
Category: Health News
Created: 3/15/2010 10:02:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 3/15/2010 10:02:58 AM Posted Monday, March 15, 2010 2:00 am CDT

Infant Deaths Spur Baby Sling Warning
Title: Infant Deaths Spur Baby Sling Warning
Category: Health News
Created: 3/15/2010 9:40:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 3/15/2010 9:40:51 AM Posted Monday, March 15, 2010 2:00 am CDT

Health Tip: Symptoms of Ketoacidosis
Title: Health Tip: Symptoms of Ketoacidosis
Category: Health News
Created: 3/12/2010 10:10:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 3/15/2010 Posted Monday, March 15, 2010 2:00 am CDT

Health Tip: Having an Epidural
Title: Health Tip: Having an Epidural
Category: Health News
Created: 3/12/2010 10:10:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 3/15/2010 Posted Monday, March 15, 2010 2:00 am CDT

Papaya Could Be a Cancer Fighter
Title: Papaya Could Be a Cancer Fighter
Category: Health News
Created: 3/12/2010 10:10:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 3/15/2010 Posted Monday, March 15, 2010 2:00 am CDT


Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country - Veterans Today Network

Veterans Today Network

Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country
Veterans Today Network
The Memphis Daily News (3/16, Wilemon) reports, “Research led by…Cushman” is the “focus of an article published Sunday in The New England Journal of ...

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Posted Tuesday, March 16, 2010 8:51 am CDT

Tennessee prepares to host - InsideTennessee.com (subscription)

InsideTennessee.com (subscription)

Tennessee prepares to host
InsideTennessee.com (subscription)
Pat Summitt is hoping to see Memphis on the screen – one of four regional sites – when Tennessee's name pops up on the bracket. ...

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Posted Sunday, March 14, 2010 1:20 am CST

The Immortal Henrietta Lacks - CBS News

CBS News

The Immortal Henrietta Lacks
CBS News
Skloot, a professor at the University of Memphis, devoted 10 years to telling her story, writing the current bestseller, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta ...

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Posted Monday, March 15, 2010 1:44 pm CDT