Implementation of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures for Your Practice Needs.

Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures offer a unique opportunity to systematically incorporate patient perspectives of their health and wellbeing into treatment, view progress over time, and develop opportunities related to clinical decision support, shared decision making, and outcomes-driven payment and practice transformation. As healthcare institutions increasingly look toward adopting PRO measures in their practices, more information is needed regarding the practicalities of implementing a successful PRO program outside of the research setting. This article offers a stepwise approach to implementing a PRO program while overcoming barriers and leveraging facilitators that commonly exist in the realms of human contribution or team building, technological infrastructure, and process design.

Medicaid for the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon.

Medicaid is a complex federally and state funded health insurance program in the United States that insures an estimated 76 million individuals, approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population.

Thrombolytic use in the region around Amarillo, Texas, in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction.

Appropriate administration of thrombolytic therapy is particularly important for ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients who are unable to access primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a timely manner. We evaluated the current state of thrombolytic therapy in the Panhandle region of West Texas where access to primary PCI is poor. The medical records of 79 patients transferred from 20 outlying facilities to the two hospitals in Amarillo, Texas, for STEMI in 2016 were retrospectively evaluated for time of onset of chest pain, initial electrocardiogram findings, medication reconciliation, and any contraindications to thrombolytic therapy.