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OralHealthGroup.com

Teledentistry is emerging as a practical solution for patients living in rural areas, according to a new report by researchers at the University at Albany. The Oral Health Workforce Research Center (OHWRC) at the Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS) recently published “Case Studies of 6 Teledentistry Programs: Strategies to Increase Access to General and Specialty Dental Services,” summarizing findings from a study of oral health providers on their use of teledentisty services.

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Health Affairs Blog

While 2017 promises to be an eventful year in health policy, it’s worth reflecting back on what we learned in 2016. As Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief, I have the pleasure of reading hundreds of articles each year — more, I’m sure, than most of our readers have time to read. I have selected my own “top ten” for 2016. The papers I chose go beyond our “most-read” and “most-shared” articles, which, this year, were disproportionately on topics related to health care costs. My list of articles covers a broad range of topics. Many of these articles analyze the effects of a specific policy; others raise the profile of issues that deserve more attention. Some articles had unexpected findings. Their shared attribute is that the authors chose to focus on interesting and important questions.  These are my favorites for the year — whether they are yours or not, I hope you find them interesting, enjoy reading them, and learn something from them.

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Utica Observer-Dispatch

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield members will have a new, telehealth option for minor medical problems in the new year. For a $10 co-payment or $40 for those in high-deductible plans (until the deductible is met), members can talk to a primary-care doctor by telephone or videoconference on smartphones or other electronic devices about minor, acute illnesses. The service is not meant to replace the patient’s relationship with a primary care doctor; it simply gives patients a way to consult a doctor when their own isn’t available.

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MedicalXpress.com

Research conducted by the University at Albany’s Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS) finds that in states where dental hygienists are allowed by law to practice at higher levels of professional competence and skill, the population’s oral health notably improves. The paper, published in Health Affairs‘ December 2016 thematic issue on , examines impacts of “scope of practice” on oral health outcomes. Scope of practice for health professionals is defined by individual states’ laws and regulations, which describe permissible settings, allowable services, and requisite supervision by other health professionals.

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Newswise.com

The American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) is pleased that Health Affairs recognizes the enormous impact oral health has on the overall public health system in the U.S. by devoting an entire issue to the subject. ADHA has long advocated evidence-based oral health management strategies for the prevention of oral and systemic diseases.

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DrBicuspid.com

Does expanding a hygienist’s scope of practice translate to improved oral healthcare at the state level? Researchers from New York believe it does, according to the results of a survey published this month in Health Affairs. With the debates about dental therapists and dental telemedicine ongoing, researchers from the University at Albany in New York updated a previous study to investigate if hygienists with an expanded practice options could reduce the oral disease burden. “Scope of practice for dental hygienists … had a positive and significant association with having no teeth removed because of decay or disease,” wrote lead study author Margaret Langelier and colleagues (Health Affairs, December 2016, Vol. 35:12, pp. 2207-2215).

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PBS Newshour

Question: As a health care professional, I’m fed up with the “talent shortage.” If there’s a shortage, why do nurses like me also work as waitresses, and make more than we could make nursing, which I’m certified in? I also have a college degree, because I was told it was a necessity to compete today. One interview after another is a waste of time, with HR telling me I look good and to expect a callback that never comes. I got a couple of actual offers and one contract assignment, but I could walk dogs and make more. Hospitals just wait for somebody who will work for peanuts. And they are rude. My dream was to build a good career as a nurse and to get paid. Does anybody want to hire a registered nurse for a living wage?

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PewTrusts.org

HOUSTON — The skyscrapers at the Texas Medical Center are filled with hospital beds. The commuters waiting in the heat for the train wear scrubs. The young woman dodging traffic on a bicycle may be studying to be a doctor, a nurse or a dentist. Houston is known for its energy jobs, but registered nurses are the most in-demand workers in town. “Whatever jobs we have, we keep expanding. And our competitors are doing the same,” said Thomas Vernon, a human resources director for Houston Methodist, which has a large hospital at the medical complex here. Last year the health system hired about 1,200 nurses across its seven hospitals.

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FierceHealthcare.com

In theory it should be easy for hospitals and health systems to hire nurses. Despite a shortage of nurses in the health workforce, there is a growing pool of potential candidates to fill open slots. Yet it can take healthcare organizations as long as 50 days to hire a registered nurse. There are several reasons for the hiring delays, according to an article from The Pew Charitable Trusts. Many hospitals and healthcare systems seek out nursing job applicants with a bachelor’s degree or other advanced degrees, as well as work experience. Yet in some states, many nurses entering the workforce may need only their nursing license to apply for jobs. In states like New York, for instance, registered nurses outnumber the available positions, so providers have raised the bar and now require a bachelor’s degree, as Jean Moore, director of the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University of Albany, told Pew.

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Crain’s New York Business

Dr. Jaime Nieto’s childhood idol wasn’t an athlete or a comic-book superhero. As a boy growing up in the Andean town of Chiquinquirá, Colombia, he most wanted to emulate the local doctor, the only one for 40,000 residents.

“He was the guy who would take out your teeth or your appendix, treat your blood pressure and deliver your babies. He was an icon. He was respected in a way that no one else was,” Nieto recalled.

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