Health Care Leader Perspective: Pulling the Patient Back Together

For even the most talented of medical physicians, the thought of finding and treating a behavioral health problem seemed out of place if not daunting, even beyond their competence. It led to a separation, sending this otherwise single person down two disparate but parallel roads. Today we’re trying to to find ways to partner, integrate care, to pull the patient back into a person.

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Understanding ‘Short-Term’ Health Insurance Plans

The federal government has issued health insurance rules that will allow people to shop for so-called “short-term plans.” Most of these plans will be much less expensive than plans on the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) markets and to some people they may look like a better option. But the plans are cheaper for a reason: They cover fewer medical services than comprehensive insurance and they will cost more for people with pre-existing health problems, if they’ll cover them at all.

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Health Crisis: Rural Americans Most Vulnerable to Suicide

While the highly publicized deaths of celebrities frequently shock America, rural areas are suffering the most. Each year, thousands of Americans in small towns take their own lives after suffering — often for years — without adequate access to mental health professionals. It is time our elected officials and leaders of health care organizations examine the very system that is no longer able to serve rural Americans. In an era when drug use is skyrocketing in small communities, we should re-examine our priorities to stop more people from dying.

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Iowa Hospital Creates New Job to Address Human Trafficking

Teresa Davidson, a nurse practitioner at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, has been hired as Mercy’s anti-human trafficking coordinator. She is responsible for leading the hospital’s efforts to strengthen the comprehensive response to victims of human trafficking. “We know there is a great need for community response and collaboration on this growing problem,” said Davidson. “Human trafficking is really a modern-day form of slavery and there’s a huge need for a united effort to address the safety needs of the victims and develop a comprehensive response to the problem.

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