Stumbling Gracefully Through Medical School

The future of health care rests with this next generation. At University of Utah Health, four young women—Bushra Hussein, Margaux Miller, Harjit Kaur, and Leen Samha—talk about their perspective of being diverse women in medical school through their weekly “Bundle of Hers” podcast. ... Read More

Finding Meaning in Medicine with Student-Driven RealMD Program

No one goes into medical school thinking it will be easy. But exactly how that academic rigor will personally affect you is much harder to anticipate. Burnout and exhaustion are common, as is a resulting loss of meaning and purpose. The unrelenting grind makes it hard to find the time to reflect on the bigger questions: What matters most to me? How do I develop meaningful connections with others? What am I committed to that is greater than myself? Those are the kinds of questions that the RealMD program invites students to reflect on and eventually answer.... Read More

University of Utah Health at Learn Serve Lead 2019: The AAMC Annual Meeting

University of Utah Health and University of Utah School of Medicine will have a significant presence at Learn Serve Lead 2019: The AAMC Annual Meeting. With more than 45 attendees from Utah, 15 presenters, and a booth in the Exhibit Hall, we're excited to meet colleagues in Phoenix, AZ, to talk about how we're Shaping the Future through medical education, student leadership, diversity and inclusion, transforming the health care delivery system, and more. ... Read More

Reimagining EHR with Kensaku Kawamoto

Imagine how frustrating it would be if your smartphone could only communicate with people using the same cell carrier—and only using the apps that Apple or Samsung issued with the phone. No Yelp, Uber, Amazon, or any of the two million other apps that make your life easier. ... Read More

What Does Value Mean to Nurse Midwives?

When a patient makes an appointment to see a provider, their choices are often dictated by outside influences: insurance networks, clinician availability, and referrals to a specialist. But when an expectant mother chooses where to have her baby, the decision is much different. But "childbirth is one of the things that patients truly plan for,” says Leissa Roberts, associate dean of faculty practice and clinical professor at University of Utah Health College of Nursing. “Our patients are not coming to the hospital to get treated for an acute crisis but rather for an experience.” ... Read More

NEJM Buzz Survey Report: Patient Experience

An overwhelming majority of respondents from the NEJM Catalysts Insights Council, a qualified group of U.S. executives, clinical leaders, and clinicians agree that providing an exceptional patient experience is an essential part of achieving high-quality health care. But many barriers exist, including time, meaningful measurement of the patient voice, and differing perspectives on transparency. Still, as our third NEJM Catalyst Buzz Survey reveals, patient experience remains an incredibly important. ... Read More

What Does Value Mean to Physical Therapists?

Julie Fritz has spent years studying chronic back pain. One of the things that the longtime physical therapist and researcher has discovered is the significant disconnects between what providers and patients value. Take, for instance, long wait times to schedule an appointment. While many clinicians might view that as a minor inconvenience, Fritz disagrees. Not seeing patients in a timely manner is more than just bad customer service—it can actually harm the patient.... Read More

Patients, Physicians, and the Perception of Value

What constitutes high-value health care? That depends on who you ask. In order to provide it, though, it’s crucial that everybody agree on a definition. Otherwise, some stakeholders will be left disappointed. That’s why University of Utah Health conducted the Value Survey: to see how consumers, providers, and employers think and talk about health care in hopes we can find common ground. Dr. Richard Orlandi, U of U Health’s Chief Medical Officer of Ambulatory Health, helps us explore the disconnect. ... Read More

NEJM Buzz Survey Report: Addressing the Problems of Quality Measurement

Quality of care has become a primary health care measurement to rate performance, determine reimbursements/incentives, and attract new patients. Yet, according to a recent NEJM Catalyst Insights Council survey conducted by University of Utah Health on quality of care, today’s quality measurements present significant problems that can hinder the sharing of data, especially with patients.... Read More

NEJM Buzz Survey Report: Cost of Care and Physician Responsibility

The question of cost of care and physician responsibility is the central theme of the first of three NEJM Catalyst Buzz Surveys focused on value in health care. Sponsored by University of Utah Health, the survey was conducted among the NEJM Catalyst Insights Council. Among other findings, the survey results show a disconnect: Physicians feel responsible for the cost of care to a patient, but not accountable for it.... Read More

Mind the Gap: Increasing Diversity in Research Will Open Doors for Precision Medicine

Science is known for its rigor. Exemplary experiments are systematic and controlled, and, in fields such as medicine, examining large populations is key. Meticulous science has translated into medical advances that are coming at a furious pace. But when it comes to serving minority populations, research has missed the mark. Health disparities have developed, and the risks of this gross oversight have become all too apparent.... Read More

When it comes to CRISPR, patients need a seat at the table

Imagine that you are diagnosed with a fatal disease caused by a defect in a single gene. If technology existed that could "edit" the error and cure the disease, would you use it? Would you edit a gene that caused a significant disability, such as blindness? What about for a genetic trait that increases your risk of obesity or alcoholism? Would your decisions change if it were your child’s genome? ... Read More

Get ready, doctors. Direct-to-Consumer Genetics is here to stay.

The idea of humans being masters of their own fate is as much a lie as it is true. What’s to be done if you find yourself genetically predisposed to heart failure, depression, cancer? You play the hand you’re dealt. ... Read More

What’s Quality in Health Care? Giving Patients Back their Time

Battling two rare diseases, Jess Jacobs knew she’d spent a lot of time trying to access health care. Waiting rooms, doctor’s appointments, ER visits and hospital stays: tick-tock, tick-tock. But how much of her time was usefully spent and how much was wasted? Jess, a former innovation director at Aetna, wanted to know. ... Read More

Hey Doc … Zip It: Can you be a good doctor with bad communication skills?

Eight seconds. It’s the length of time that a rodeo cowboy must stay atop a bucking bull to earn a score. Eight ticks on the clock is also how long it takes, on average, before your doctor cuts you off in the middle of your story about where it hurts and when it started. The story you’ve been practicing under your breath in the car on your way to an appointment that’s been circled on your calendar for six weeks. ... Read More

How to speed the journey from discovery to cure: Make a science out of science

Precision medicine has a commitment problem. There’s no question that understanding the biology behind disease can lead to tailored treatments. Take the cancer drug crizotinib, for example. It can extend the life of some of the 7 percent of lung cancer patients who have an abnormality in a particular gene. But right now, there aren’t nearly enough targeteted drugs like it. ... Read More

The Ethical Quandary of Precision Medicine: Who Gets Left Out?

Whether you’re a family doctor weary of one-size-fits-all approaches to treating your patients, a science junkie, or the parent of a child with a mysterious, undiagnosed disease, it’s easy to get excited about the budding promise of precision medicine.... Read More

Who’s Responsible for Health? Depends on Where You Sit in Academic Medicine

Who do health care providers hold accountable for medical outcomes, costs and overall wellness? Depends on whom you ask. ... Read More

In cancer treatment, is precision medicine more expensive than it’s worth?

Cancer is expensive. And precisely targeted cancer is even more costly. With specialized oncology drugs now the driving force behind spiking pharmaceutical prices across U.S. health care, cancer treatment highlights the Catch-22 of precision medicine: its life-changing genetic discoveries paired with (at-times) astronomical costs.... Read More

Frontiers in Precision Medicine: What does it take to build a large research cohort? Lots of communication

Most people are willing to be poked and prodded if it means determining which mixture of chemicals kills colon cancer cells more efficiently, or identifying a rare genetic mutation that could prevent debilitating neurological conditions.... Read More