Tag Archives: workforce

Minnesota’s dental therapist experiment receiving good reviews

Leave a reply
Mary Otto

About Mary Otto

Mary Otto, a Washington, D.C.-based freelancer, is AHCJ's topic leader on oral health and the author of "Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America." She can be reached at mary@healthjournalism.org.

Photo: Mark via Flickr

Minnesota’s first dental therapists went to work six years ago. Now approximately 70 of the licensed midlevel providers are offering preventive and restorative care in clinics and dental offices around the state.

When state legislators approved the dental therapist model in 2009, they hoped the addition to the state’s dental workforce would expand access for underserved Medicaid patients. Lack of care for poor patients is a problem in the state, as it is across the country. Continue reading →

Changes in health care landscape could mean big stories in oral health

Leave a reply
Mary Otto

About Mary Otto

Mary Otto, a Washington, D.C.-based freelancer, is AHCJ's topic leader on oral health and the author of "Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America." She can be reached at mary@healthjournalism.org.

Photo: Pia Christensen/AHCJPanelist Mary Foley focused on the potential changes in financing of oral health programs that serve the public during a discussion at Health Journalism 2017.

It is hard to know, amid the ongoing battle to reshape the nation’s health care system, what the future holds for dental care.

Panelists at Health Journalism 2017 tackled the unknown yet crucial territory that lies ahead in a session entitled “Oral Health Stories to Watch in 2017.” Speakers encouraged the reporters in the audience to remember to ask good questions about dental services as they cover their beats in the months ahead. Continue reading →

Geriatric workforce training supports rural elderly

Leave a reply
Liz Seegert

About Liz Seegert

Liz Seegert (@lseegert), is AHCJ’s topic editor on aging. Her work has appeared in NextAvenue.com, Journal of Active Aging, Cancer Today, Kaiser Health News, the Connecticut Health I-Team and other outlets. She is a senior fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University and co-produces the HealthCetera podcast.

Photo: Otto Phokus via Flickr

Photo: Otto Phokus via Flickr

A shortage of qualified geriatric health providers to address the often complex health needs of rural seniors around the United States requires some innovative approaches. One effort is the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP), which helps train and support primary care practices in rural areas to offer better care management.

GWEP is funded through the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). It concentrates on improving services such as the Medicare annual wellness visit, chronic care management, advance care planning and dementia care. Continue reading →

Experts want focus on expanding the eldercare workforce

Leave a reply
Liz Seegert

About Liz Seegert

Liz Seegert (@lseegert), is AHCJ’s topic editor on aging. Her work has appeared in NextAvenue.com, Journal of Active Aging, Cancer Today, Kaiser Health News, the Connecticut Health I-Team and other outlets. She is a senior fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University and co-produces the HealthCetera podcast.

Photo: Myfuture.com via Flickr

Photo: Myfuture.com via Flickr

The next presidential administration will need to tackle dozens of pressing health care challenges. A panel of experts convened by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) says caring for our older adults must be among the administration’s top priorities.

As part of NAM’s Vital Directions for Health and Health Care initiative, aging experts were asked to provide guidance on U.S. policy to improve the health of an aging population. Continue reading →

EHRs and physician burnout: Advancing the story

2 Replies
Rebecca Vesely

About Rebecca Vesely

Rebecca Vesely is AHCJ's topic leader on health information technology and a freelance writer. She has written about health, science and medicine for AFP, the Bay Area News Group, Modern Healthcare, Wired, Scientific American online and many other news outlets.

Photo: rosefirerising via Flickr

Photo: rosefirerising via Flickr

For every hour that physicians spend with patients, they spend nearly an additional two hours on electronic health record (EHR) tasks and desk work each clinic day, according to a new study published, fittingly, on Labor Day.

The study is sure to add to the debate over how much EHR tasks are contributing to physician burnout.

Many reporters have tackled the subject of physician burnout in their own communities, and physician leaders have called for more clinician support in computer and administrative tasks. Continue reading →

Hispanic health care leaders advocate for better cultural competency

Leave a reply
Mary Otto

About Mary Otto

Mary Otto, a Washington, D.C.-based freelancer, is AHCJ's topic leader on oral health and the author of "Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America." She can be reached at mary@healthjournalism.org.

Elena Rios, president of the National Hispanic Medical Association

Elena Rios, president of the National Hispanic Medical Association

Language and cultural barriers negatively impact the health of Hispanic Americans, federal health officials say. A lack of access to routine health services has contributed to an increase in a variety of conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, tooth decay and gum disease, that disproportionately affect the nation’s more than 50 million Hispanics.

An increase in Hispanic health care providers could help address the need for “culturally competent and linguistically appropriate services,” said Elena Rios, president of the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA).Yet Hispanic physicians, dentists and nurses remain in short supply. Continue reading →