Cleveland Clinic & TedMed Medical Innovations: Impact of Medical Technologies 2015
In October 2014, Cleveland Clinic convened its 12th Annual Medical Innovation Summit to unveil their "Top 10 Innovations for 2015." The top innovations were determined based on interviews with more than 110 Cleveland Clinic experts in all major medical specialties. The process yielded almost 150 emerging technologies, which were then pared down to a final list of ten innovations that may have an immediate impact on health in 2015. In addition to the innovation summit hosted by Cleveland Clinic, the 2014 TedMed Conference also explored medical innovations, seeking to "seed the innovations in health and medicine of today, making the breakthroughs of tomorrow possible." In this forum, both well-known and undiscovered leaders, innovators, and explorers converged to discuss the possibility of a healthier future and the novelties that may advance that ideal. The first installment of this two-part series on medical innovations will discuss some of the revolutionary industry developments that were showcased at these two conferences and have the ability to significantly impact the healthcare sector throughout 2015. (Read more...)

Physicians Foundation Issues List of Physician Concerns for 2015
On December 14, 2014, the Physicians Foundation released its 2015 Physicians Watch List, an insight into the trends physicians are witnessing or predicting will occur in healthcare. The Watch List, based on the results of a survey of over 20,000 physicians, noted "five critical areas that will have major impact on practicing physicians" during the 2015 calendar year: (1) increasing provider consolidation; (2) increased strain on the physician-patient relationship; (3) the implementation of ICD-10; (4) cost of care transparency for both patients and physicians; and, (5) access to physician care. Healthcare providers, administrators, and compliance personnel can utilize this information, above, to develop courses of action to mitigate these concerns while also promoting high-quality, cost-efficient medical practice. This Health Capital Topics article will summarize the five areas of concern noted by the Physicians Foundation as well as provide suggested courses of action that physicians and administrators may take to potentially alleviate these concerns. (Read more...)

The Economic Costs of Antimicrobial Resistance
In April 2014, the World Health Organization revealed in their "Antimicrobial Resistance: Global Report on Surveillance" that Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) has reached "urgent" levels, resulting in the possibility of common infections and minor injuries killing people, which "threatens the achievements of modern medicine". AMR is the "reduced efficacy of antibacterial, antiparasitic, antiviral and antifungal drugs, making the treatment of patients difficult, costly, or even impossible." AMR was initially considered a "human medical problem" to which only patients with hospital-acquired infections (HAI), the critically ill, or the immunosuppressed would be likely to succumb. Today, AMR has spread to the point that "the general population is considered to be at risk," at a time when "common bacterial infections are becoming increasingly difficult to treat." (Read more...)

Mental Health Status of Inmates & the Homeless Population
In the third installment of this four-part Health Capital Topics series, the state of mental illness was discussed generally, along with the availability of services, popular treatments, and government implementation of mental health resources with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The National Sheriffs' Association and the Treatment Advocacy Center have reported that there are more than three times as many mentally ill people housed within prisons and jails in the U.S. as are in hospitals (including psychiatric homes). Similarly, the study found that nearly 40% of the U.S. homeless population has a serious form of mental illness. This last installment will focus on these two special populations within the mental healthcare system: (1) prisoners; and, (2) the homeless. (Read more...)