Newsmakers

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the top and bottom numbers in a blood pressure reading are both important in determining a patient’s risk for heart disease. Alexander Flint, MD, a neurointensivist and stroke specialist with The Permanente Medical Group, says in an article on NBCNews.com that clinicians need to pay attention to the bottom number (the diastolic pressure) just as much as the top (systolic).

A new Harvard Business Review story on burnout quotes Edward M. Ellison, MD, co-CEO, The Permanente Federation, on the massive negative impacts of physician burnout, innovations to address it, and what leaders can do to prevent purpose-driven employees in their own organizations from suffering.

Edward M. Ellison, MD, executive medical director and chairman at the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, in a new Medscape Medical News story outlines the benefits of an expanded definition of burnout in the World Health Organization’s new International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).

In a recent opinion piece for the Annals of Internal Medicine, Permanente Federation co-CEO Edward M. Ellison, MD, highlights the importance of addressing the total cost of physician burnout.

There is raised awareness regarding physician wellness “and it is absolutely imperative that we start upstream,” says Edward M. Ellison, MD, executive medical director and chairman at the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, underscoring the importance of providing tools to help promote wellness during residency training.

Ryan Caldeiro, MD, assistant medical director for addiction medicine at Washington Permanente Medical Group, commented on how doctors and patients struggle with the use of benzodiazepine – a class of psychoactive drugs that is often prescribed for anxiety – in a recent WebMD article.

Kaiser Permanente’s recent launch of Thrive Local – the most comprehensive, far-reaching social health network of its kind – promises to improve the health of individual patients and impact social determinants of health on a grand scale, according to Imelda Dacones, MD, Northwest Permanente’s president and chief executive officer, who is quoted in a recent HealthLeaders story.

The 16th Annual World Health Care Congress (WHCC19) in Washington, D.C., brought together global thought leaders in health care transformation to network and share best practices.