Dr. Brita's Blog

The Overwhelming Burden of Nursing Documentation - Part 3

Posted by Dr. Brita Hansen on Aug 15, 2019 1:45:44 PM

Aug. 15, 2019 - Nursing documentation is a necessary but overly complicated and time-consuming task. It’s a common problem worthy of a closer look, so in Part 1 of this blog series, we examined the findings of a recent study, Quantifying and Visualizing Nursing Flowsheet Documentation Burden in Acute and Critical Care.

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Topics: Patient Safety, Flowsheets, Nursing Documentation

The Overwhelming Burden of Nursing Documentation - Part 2

Posted by Dr. Brita Hansen on Aug 1, 2019 12:01:23 PM

Aug. 1, 2019 Nurses spend between 19% and 35% of their practice time documenting care. That was one of the insights shared in Part 1 of this blog series examining the amount of time nurses spend recording clinical data in electronic health record (EHR) flowsheets.

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Topics: Patient Safety, Nursing Documentation

The Overwhelming Burden of Nursing Documentation - Part 1

Posted by Dr. Brita Hansen on Jul 18, 2019 4:11:53 PM

Jul. 18, 2019 - The burden of documentation is a well-known challenge in healthcare. Now, we have a clearer understanding of the problem, thanks to a recent study shared at the American Medical Informatics Association Annual Symposium and published in December 2018 by the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

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Topics: Patient Safety, Flowsheets, Nursing Documentation

Limited EpiPen Supply: Microcosm of the Drug Shortage Epidemic

Posted by Dr. Brita Hansen on Jun 28, 2019 11:45:00 AM

June 28, 2019 As summer weather and family vacations beckon more people outdoors, the ongoing shortage of EpiPens poses a serious risk for people allergic to insect bites. EpiPen, the leading brand of epinephrine auto-injectors, provides emergency treatment for life-threatening allergic reactions to stings, foods, drugs and other substances.

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Topics: Drug Shortages, "Pharmacy"

How do Increased Medication Supply and Potential Price Fixing Affect Drug Shortages?

Posted by Dr. Brita Hansen on May 30, 2019 1:35:15 PM

May 30, 2019 – A lot has happened during the month of May related to two major issues facing healthcare today – drug shortages and the high cost of medications. On the plus side, there were announcements of more antibiotics and other generic injectable medications coming onto the market. On the flip side, we learned of serious price fixing allegations against leading drug manufacturers.

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Topics: Drug Shortages, Drug Prices

Patient Safety Risks Increased by Shortages of Life-Saving Medications

Posted by Dr. Brita Hansen on May 17, 2019 11:45:00 AM

 May 17, 2019 – One of the most striking realizations about the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug shortage list is how many of the medications are life-saving. For example, what would a clinical team do if there was no atropine available in the emergency room when a patient’s heart rate is dangerously slow? Or no sodium bicarbonate to administer when a patient is in cardiac arrest? Imagining that is very unsettling.

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Topics: Drug Shortages, Patient Safety

Insights into What's Trending in Hospital Pharmacy in 2019

Posted by Dr. Brita Hansen on May 2, 2019 12:30:00 PM

May 2, 2019  Health systems are juggling a myriad of pharmacy-related challenges in 2019. Compliance with new regulations, declining reimbursement rates, rising medication costs and drug shortages are some of the many challenges that are top of mind. Now the real question is, how do they overcome them?

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Topics: Drug Shortages, "Pharmacy"

Key Themes Around Drug Shortages and Why They Still Exist

Posted by Dr. Brita Hansen on Apr 11, 2019 2:15:00 PM

No doubt you’ve heard it said before, but drug shortages really have become the new normal. Shortages have grown more persistent and long-lasting over the years. Some have even been active for more than eight years! The intensity of shortages also remains high – as does the public health impact. At a November 2018 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug shortage summit, FDA task force members provided a succinct summary with some key themes of the current situation facing hospitals today:

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Topics: Drug Shortages

Taking Action to Better Manage Drug Shortages

Posted by Dr. Brita Hansen on Mar 21, 2019 9:12:00 AM

Mar. 21, 2019 - Recently, I came across a series of detailed graphs showing drug shortage statistics that provides a snapshot of the ongoing epidemic of drug shortages from 2001 to 2018. These statistics were compiled by the University of Utah Drug Information Service and published by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). The seven graphs revealed the rate of new shortages is increasing. Long-term active and ongoing shortages are not being resolved. There are also inadequate supplies of basic drugs, which has a serious negative impact on patient care and pharmacy operations.

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Topics: Drug Shortages, Drug Shortage Management

How Drug Shortages Are Impacting Drug Prices in 2019 - Part 3

Posted by Dr. Brita Hansen on Mar 7, 2019 8:11:00 AM

Mar. 6, 2019 - Welcome to Part 3 of our blog series examining the drug shortage crisis. Part 1 covered the rapid increase in prices and the types of drugs most commonly affected. Part 2 delved deeper into the impact on hospital systems’ ability to manage drug spending and shortages. Here in Part 3, we’re looking closer at drug shortage impact on clinical staffing and the effect on patient care.

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Topics: Drug Shortages, Drug Prices

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Brita Hansen, MD, is Chief Medical Officer at LogicStream Health. Dr. Hansen is also a practicing internal medicine hospitalist and has served as a healthcare system executive, most recently as Chief Health Information Officer at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. Dr. Brita’s Blog covers a range of topics, including:

  • Appropriate Utilization
  • Clinician Engagement
  • Clinical Process Performance & Improvement
  • Healthcare Information Software & Technology
  • EHR Optimization
  • Clinical Decision Support
  • Healthcare Patient Safety & Quality

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