This article appears in the online journal Orthopedics This Week.
Mar 7, 2014
by Elizabeth Hofheinz, M.P.H., M.Ed.
Intralign, a specialty healthcare services provider, has announced it will partner with one of the world’s most respected orthopedic care providers, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), to develop a first-of-its-kind training curriculum for surgical first assistants (SFAs)—a clinical specialty comprised of surgeons, medical doctors, physician’s assistants and registered nurse first assists, that is in high demand to help provide better patient care. The educational program, operating as Intralign Academy, will teach the latest technologies and methodologies in orthopedic care, as well as best practices for increasing operational efficiency in the surgical suite.
“Surgical first assistants help surgeons focus on the highest-value care activities, which can ultimately increase surgical throughput. Despite their pivotal role in the OR, there are few continuing education opportunities for SFAs today in which the curriculum goes beyond clinical techniques to also train on best operational practices to address the changing realities of healthcare,” said Rick Ferreira, president and CEO of Intralign. “By leveraging real-world insights from the most sought-after experts in orthopedic care, we can enrich Intralign’s educational offering and provide the strongest possible competencies for SFAs in orthopedic and total joint replacement training. These skills will further enhance Intralign SFAs’ ability to deliver high-quality, consistent and professional assistance that allows a surgeon to do more with fewer resources.”
Intralign’s Intra-Operative Support service makes highly trained SFAs available to the hospital to function as a “surgeon extender,” a specially trained healthcare worker who performs tasks that might otherwise be performed by a surgeon. The advanced support SFAs provide help optimize the surgeon’s efficiency throughout the case, which reduces procedure time and enhances patient throughput.
As part of the current program, Intralign Academy offers clinical training in a variety of surgical specialties in addition to orthopedics, including surgical robotics. Professionals enrolled in Intralign Academy are educated on OR behavior, communication and optimal methods for creating OR efficiencies, in addition to clinical best practices, which equip them with the broadest perspectives to assist any surgeon in any environment.
Rick Ferreira told OTW, “Our curriculum development team will work with Hospital for Special Surgery leadership to identify new and evolving orthopedic surgery best practices to enhance the training that is already available for surgical first assistants through Intralign Academy,” said Ferreira. “This intelligence sharing will be an ongoing process to keep the training program grounded on the latest orthopedic care methodologies and surgical efficiency standards.”
Asked about how quality/success will be measured, Ferreira commented, “Success of our training program will ultimately be measured by increasing the number of healthcare facilities and providers that embrace the valuable role highly skilled surgeon extenders play in increasing surgical efficiency and bridging the pending surgeon shortage gap.”
Louis Shapiro, president and CEO of Hospital for Special Surgery, told OTW, “From a provider’s perspective, we believe the Intralign Academy will help elevate the level of clinical and operational support delivered to surgical teams to set new standards for surgical efficiency.”
Category: news
Intralign, Hospital for Special Surgery Partner to Develop Training Program for Surgical First Assistants
This article appears in the online review Beckersspine.com.
Feb 28, 2014
by Anuja Vaidya
Intralign, a specialty healthcare services provider, announced it will partner with the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York to develop a training curriculum for Surgical First Assistants — a clinical specialty comprised of surgeons, medical doctors, physician assistants and registered nurse first assists.
The first-of-its kind educational program, known as Intralign Academy, will provide information regarding the latest technologies and methodologies in orthopedic care as well as best practices for increasing operational efficiency in the surgical suite.
“Surgical first assistants help surgeons focus on the highest value care activities, which can ultimately increase surgical throughput. Despite their pivotal role in the OP, there are few continuing education opportunities for SFAs today in which the curriculum goes beyond clinical techniques to also train on best operational practices to address the changing realities of healthcare,” said Rick Ferreira, president and CEO of Intralign.
Precyse / HealthStream’s ICD-10 Education Solution Reaches Approximately 1.2 Million Learners
Wayne, PA and Alpharetta, GA Feb 26, 2014 — Precyse University, the most innovative and complete on-site, online and mobile healthcare education solution that is designed to prepare coders, physicians, nurses, case managers, administrative staff and all others impacted by the transition to ICD-10, is gaining increasing dominance in healthcare organizations nationwide. Precyse and HealthStream have teamed together to offer a unique and comprehensive ICD-10 Education Solution that is delivered exclusively through HealthStream’s workforce development platform. The Precyse/HealthStream solution for ICD-10 education is now used by approximately 1.2 million learners in healthcare organizations. Precyse was recognized in the recent KLAS report, “ICD-10 Consulting: Roadmap to a Successful Transition,” as the only firm in this report to receive 100% positive comments from their clients about their ICD-10 services. Precyse clients praise the Precyse University training program as ‘mature, comprehensive, and flexible.’ ”
“Precyse has helped us identify the different levels and types of education needed for our entire staff including our clinicians and doctors, helping us to understand the full breath of impact and to plan accordingly,” said Marie Thomas, RHIT, CCS, CPC-H, CCDS, Revenue and Documentation Integrity, I-10 Lead Trainer Duke University Health System. “Our staff needed ICD-10 education that was easily accessible.”
Precyse and HealthStream also offer a powerful and unique ICD-10 education program for the physician office/ambulatory market, the Precyse University Physician Office ICD-10 Education Solution. This program is specifically designed with the needs of physicians in mind and provides a one-stop solution for all the ICD-10 education needs of physician practices, clinics and other ambulatory settings.
“Although ICD-10 seems daunting and burdensome, it actually offers tremendous opportunity to optimize reimbursement, minimize denials and appeals and improve clinical care through more valuable and detailed data,” explained Thomas Ormondroyd, Vice President and General Manager of Precyse Learning Solutions. “Our solution is designed to ease the change to ICD-10 and have healthcare organizations ready for its arrival.”
Precyse/Jvion ICD-10 Assured Program Puts Healthcare Organizations on Path to Success Beyond ICD-10 Transition
Companies to jointly host ICD-10 Pre-Conference Symposium at HIMSS 2014
Wayne, PA and Alpharetta, GA Feb 25, 2014 — Precysee, a leader in Health Information Management (HIM) Performance Management and Technology, and Jvion, a healthcare technology company that delivers software solutions designed to protect provider revenues from mandated reforms and compliance activities, have partnered together to offer the Precyse/Jvion ICD-10 Assured solution. This program brings together the best in data analytics, services and workflow technology to help healthcare organizations proactively diagnose risk areas, mitigate pitfalls, and capitalize on improvement opportunities on their path to ICD-10 and beyond.
Jvion, with its proven big-data analytic technology, pinpoints areas of vulnerability, and Precyse, with 14 years of experience in helping organizations of all sizes improve performance and reduce risk, will aid clients in resolving those vulnerabilities. After delivering actionable data that pinpoints risk, Precyse then builds a tailored HIM Performance Management solution that applies the right combination of people, process and technology to address these problem areas head on and ensure success and sustainability in ICD-10 and beyond.
“The intelligence provided by Jvion will be an essential element in meeting the needs of Precyse clients seeking data to efficiently focus resources in areas presenting the greatest financial and clinical risk,” said Denise Johnson, vice president, Integrated Services for Precyse. “It is only through the combination of superior analytics and comprehensive services that results can be ICD-10 Assured.”
A Pre-Conference Symposium, led by Jvion and sponsored by Precyse will be held at the HIMSS 2014 Annual Conference & Exhibition February 23-27, 2014, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. (Precyse will be at Booth #3613, and Jvion will be at Booth #4193). The symposium, titled “ICD-10: Stop Being Polite and Start Getting Real About ICD-10,” will be held on Sunday, February 23, 2014, from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. During this daylong program, attendees will learn how to address some of the biggest ICD-10 challenges including: implementing a successful ICD-10 program in an outpatient/ambulatory setting; how to increase retention and the effectiveness of documentation and training; how to support organizations that are behind in their ICD-10 conversion; how to optimize remaining ICD-10 budgets; what to do about post 10/14 reimbursement monitoring; and how providers can avoid ICD-10’s long-term impacts to fraud, waste, and abuse.
Intralign and Hospital for Special Surgery Collaborate on Advanced Training Program for Surgical First Assistants
Coursework is the first-of-its-kind to focus on both clinical and operational efficiency in orthopedic surgery
Phoenix, AZ Feb 24, 2014 – Intralign, a specialty healthcare services provider, today announced it will partner with one of the world’s most respected orthopedic care providers, Hospital for Special Surgery, to develop a first-of-its-kind training curriculum for Surgical First Assistants (SFAs) – a clinical specialty comprised of surgeons, medical doctors, physician’s assistants and registered nurse first assists, that is in high demand to help provide better patient care. The educational program, operating as Intralign Academy, will teach the latest technologies and methodologies in orthopedic care, as well as best practices for increasing operational efficiency in the surgical suite.
Leaders from Hospital for Special Surgery will provide insight and support to enhance Intralign’s existing Academy programs. Intralign Academy is the nation’s first professional academy to train SFAs in both operational and clinical excellence with an emphasis on credentialing, clinical training, operating room management and continuing education.
“Surgical first assistants help surgeons focus on the highest-value care activities, which can ultimately increase surgical throughput. Despite their pivotal role in the OR, there are few continuing education opportunities for SFAs today in which the curriculum goes beyond clinical techniques to also train on best operational practices to address the changing realities of healthcare,” said Rick Ferreira, president and CEO of Intralign. “By leveraging real-world insights from the most sought-after experts in orthopedic care, we can enrich Intralign’s educational offering and provide the strongest possible competencies for SFAs in orthopedic and total joint replacement training. These skills will further enhance Intralign SFAs’ ability to deliver high-quality, consistent and professional assistance that allows a surgeon to do more with fewer resources.”
Intralign’s Intra-Operative Support service makes highly trained SFAs available to the hospital to function as a “surgeon extender,” a specially trained healthcare worker who performs tasks that might otherwise be performed by a surgeon. The advanced support SFAs provide help optimize the surgeon’s efficiency throughout the case, which reduces procedure time and enhances patient throughput.
“We believe that in order to provide the best possible orthopedic care for every patient, knowledge of evolving techniques and methodologies should be shared,” said Louis Shapiro, president and CEO, Hospital for Special Surgery. “Through our partnership with Intralign, we can help develop a training program that will be the gold standard for surgical first assistant education for years to come.”
As part of the current program, Intralign Academy offers clinical training in a variety of surgical specialties in addition to orthopedics, including surgical robotics. Professionals enrolled in Intralign Academy are educated on OR behavior, communication and optimal methods for creating OR efficiencies, in addition to clinical best practices, which equip them with the broadest perspectives to assist any surgeon in any environment.
OsoBio appoints Dr. Paul Stoker Director of Laboratories
Dr. Stoker brings to new role nearly 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical quality control
Albuquerque, NM Feb 21, 2014 – OsoBio has appointed Paul W. Stoker, Ph.D., director of its chemistry and microbiology laboratories.
As part of the company’s quality control department, the laboratories are responsible for testing the in-process and finished products – as well as raw materials and components – involved in OsoBio’s cGMP sterile manufacturing operations. The labs also are charged with environmental monitoring and analytical method development.
“While continuous quality compliance is key to OsoBio’s business success, it’s even more important to the patients who rely upon the medications we manufacture – and we try to never lose sight of that fact,” said Milton Boyer, president of OsoBio. “Paul will lead a team of scientists who are knowledgeable, capable and highly committed to integrity – delivering excellence to both our clients and the patients we collectively serve.”
Stoker fills a position vacated when Kathleen Larese, OsoBio’s previous director of laboratories, became the company’s director of technical operations.
Stoker brings to OsoBio nearly 20 years of professional experience managing pharmaceutical laboratories responsible for quality control. Most recently, he served as director of the quality control laboratory at Dendreon, a company that researches, develops, commercializes and manufactures cancer therapeutics. Prior to that, he directed quality control and analytical laboratories for Nektar Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company.
Stoker earned his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Nebraska. He also holds from Brigham Young University a master’s degree in zoology with an emphasis in toxicology and statistics, as well as a bachelor’s degree in chemistry.
OSO BioPharmaceuticals Manufacturing, LLC, is a contract manufacturing organization (CMO) that specializes in delivering injectable sterile liquid, suspension and lyophilized biologic and pharmaceutical products to the pharmaceutical industry. The company offers significant knowledge and experience in late-phase clinical products and successfully taking them to commercialization.
In the history of our Albuquerque, N.M., facility, OsoBio has manufactured more than 250 distinct commercial presentations in every major therapeutic category. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has granted OsoBio registrations for Schedule II-V controlled substances.
Surgical First Assists’ Role In Addressing Physician Shortage
This article appears in the January/February print issue of Surgical Products.
Feb 6, 2014
by Lars Thording, Vice President of Marketing and Public Affairs, Intralign
With a growing aging population, and as many as 32 million Americans entering the healthcare system in 2014, the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates there will be a shortage of 91,500 doctors by 2020.
Much of the recent physician shortage conversations have been centered on a deficiency of primary care physicians, but of the estimated shortfall, roughly 46,100 will be surgeons and specialists.
With the foreseeable demand increasing at a faster rate than our current physician supply, I’m not surprised that conversations have heated up around different approaches to address the pending shortage before care delivery is dramatically impacted. Many of these dialogues involve a number of the usual suspects, strategies that have been positioned to address physician shortage issues in the past, such as the need to increase the number of residency training programs, reform scope of practice laws, expand the National Health Services Corps, develop student loan forgiveness programs and institute new staffing models.
We know there is no magic bullet to solve our seemingly ongoing physician shortage issues. However, from the list above, there is one approach in particular that is gaining steam within the surgical suite that is helping alleviate some of the mounting pressure on surgeons to meet the needs of a growing patient population.
Recently a study by RAND Corp. found that an expansion of the role of nurse practitioners and physician assistants could help eliminate 50 percent, or more, of the primary care physician shortage in the U.S. by 2025 – a concept being implemented beyond the primary care office walls in the OR.
A growth in staffing models that emphasizes better use of “physician extenders,” healthcare professionals who are licensed to practice medicine under the direction of physicians and surgeons, has emerged successfully over the past decade.
In the OR, qualified physician extenders typically are called Surgical First Assists (SFAs). SFAs are traditionally surgeons, medical doctors (MDs), physician assistants (PA-C), registered nurse first assists (RNFA) and advanced registrar nurse practitioners (ARNP). These highly trained SFAs provide advanced support that scrub techs are unqualified to provide, which helps free up the surgeons time to focus on tasks more appropriate for their level of medical training. This allows the surgeon to provide better quality of care with fewer resources and to increase surgical throughput, arguably leading to better surgeon satisfaction and better care economics for the hospital. At Intralign, our data shows the use of SFAs can reduce surgery time by 30 percent and increase surgeon throughput by 42 percent.
From a hospital-wide perspective, SFAs also help decrease costs by avoiding reimbursement barriers and lowering administrative tasks.
A few years ago, a large metropolitan hospital based on the East Coast was experiencing an increasingly heavy surgery load and a short supply of surgeons when it employed Intralign SFAs to help reduce surgery time, increase throughput and safeguard its surgical quality reputation.
Because Intralign SFAs are trained in the latest surgical techniques and devices, they can support the surgeon in many tasks. With this level of support, procedure times are shorter. Over time, this means that surgeon time and operating room time is freed up, allowing hospitals to accommodate more procedures. The exciting part of this equation is this can all be accomplished without adding more surgeon staff and without sacrificing quality.
During the first year, SFAs were added to a small fraction of procedures, which allowed the surgical team time to adjust roles and build chemistry. Once fully implemented, the SFA structure helped reduce hip and knee replacement surgery time by more than 100 hours, which is the equivalent to conducting roughly 40 arthroplasty procedures. The team also experienced nearly 500 hours of reduced general surgery time, which translates to time available to perform almost 250 additional general surgery procedures a year.
As our healthcare landscape continues to evolve, more efficient care delivery demands will call for a continued level of clinical labor specialization that optimizes surgeon involvement without impacting quality of care.
Qualified clinical staff can fill a shortage gap by providing the support needed to allow those with the highest level of certification to address the highlight level of patient needs.
Everyone understands there are many factors that need to be addressed to be able to better serve our future surgical patient’s needs, but qualified physician extenders will be critical in getting us there. The SFA profession will only grow in volume and importance, so I encourage hospital OR leadership to take a closer look at staffing models that not only help them meet patient demand, but present increased efficiency and revenue opportunities for their organization.
CMP Pharma and Kiel Laboratories Sign Development Agreement for Two NDA Products
Farmville, NC Feb 18, 2014 – CMP Pharma (formerly Carolina Medical Products Co.) and Kiel Laboratories have signed an agreement to develop, seek regulatory approval, and commercialize two new prescription drugs. The first drugs will be directed at the general population with special emphasis on the geriatric market, followed by a product to be directed at the pediatric market.
While both drugs already exist as FDA approved solid dosage forms, CMP will be filing NDAs to obtain approval for an alternate liquid dosage form.
Commenting on the agreement, Gerald Sakowski, CEO of CMP Pharma, said, “These two products are excellent complements to our line of niche specialty pharmaceutical products. This is another chapter in our long history of developing stable, ready-to-use liquid dosage forms that make life easier on the consumer, the physician, and the pharmacist.”
CMP Pharma is a specialty pharmaceutical company located in Farmville, NC that develops and manufactures a portfolio of high-value topical and liquid oral dose pharmaceutical products. The company was founded in the early 1980s around the development of a ready-to-use liquid dosage form for sodium polystyrene sulfonate, a drug used for the treatment of hyperkalemia.
Kiel Laboratories, Inc., a privately held company established in 1991 by Dr. Jeff Kiel provides a full spectrum of drug development, regulatory, and intellectual property services. Kiel specializes in the identification of, and regulatory strategies around 505(b)(2) and orphan drug NDA submissions. Kiel Laboratories, Inc. is located in Flowery Branch, GA.
The Penlon stand at Arab Health 2014
Record numbers on the Penlon stand
Abingdon, UK Feb 18, 2014 — Arab Health in Dubai is an important annual exhibition for Penlon, as we welcome our existing distributors and potential new customers from across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The show this year had over 3000 exhibiting companies from 63 countries, and an estimated 85,000 visitors.
Penlon had a large stand this year, in a prime location, which gave us a continuous flow of passing traffic and visitors to the stand, generating a record number of leads for new business and potential commercial partnerships.
Penlon also had a presence on the UK’s huge ABHI stand (Association of British Healthcare Industries), with a Prima 460 anaesthesia system featuring on their mock-up of an operating theatre.
We can rate this years’ Arab Health as an outstanding success for Penlon, and would like to thank the whole team for their energy, positivity and round-the-clock commitment.
“I just wanted to say thank you for all of your hard work for Arab Health over the past few weeks and months. It was truly an amazing show, with little to no time for any rest. You all worked hard in the preparation for the show along with the show itself, and we are hopeful that it will manifest into tangible results.”
Steve Moon (CEO)
Brian Moyer Receives 2013 HIMSS Chapter Leader of the Year Award!
Each year, HIMSS honors its members for their contributions to the Society, their organizations and to health information technology
Nashville, TN Feb 4, 2014 – The Tennessee Chapter of the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) announced today that its president, Brian Moyer, CPHIMS, FHIMSS has received the 2013 HIMSS Chapter Leader of the Year Award. The Chapter Leader of the Year Award recognizes significant leadership, extraordinary contributions to HIMSS Chapters, the society, and a commitment to the HIT industry. The HIMSS Board of Directors approved the selection of the award winners at its December 2013 board meeting in Orlando, Fla.
Brian serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer for GAFFEY Healthcare. He is a serial entrepreneur, having founded and grown multiple Health IT companies over the past 25 years. He is President of the HIMSS Tennessee Chapter and is a member of the HIMSS Chapters Task Force, the Nashville Technology Council Board of Directors and the IT Advisory Board for Trevecca Nazarene University.
Brian has led the fast-growing Tennessee chapter for the last year and placed a great deal of emphasis on creating structure, greater engagement, accountability and measurements within the leadership team of the chapter. He hosted several leadership retreats, developed a by-laws working group, and led multiple groups focused on chapter goals. As a result of these efforts, the chapter is one of the most profitable and well-run chapters, focused on accountability and structured engagements that led to a 40 percent growth in membership. Under Brian’s leadership, a committed and dedicated team of board members and volunteers annually produces the Summit of the Southeast conference, which hosts nearly 1000 individuals each year in Nashville, making it one of the largest HIMSS Chapter events in the country.
The Tennessee Chapter of the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) announced today that its president, Brian Moyer, CPHIMS, FHIMSS has received the 2013 HIMSS Chapter Leader of the Year Award. The Chapter Leader of the Year Award recognizes significant leadership, extraordinary contributions to HIMSS Chapters, the society, and a commitment to the HIT industry. The HIMSS Board of Directors approved the selection of the award winners at its December 2013 board meeting in Orlando, Fla.
Brian serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer for GAFFEY Healthcare. He is a serial entrepreneur, having founded and grown multiple Health IT companies over the past 25 years. He is President of the HIMSS Tennessee Chapter and is a member of the HIMSS Chapters Task Force, the Nashville Technology Council Board of Directors and the IT Advisory Board for Trevecca Nazarene University.
Brian has led the fast-growing Tennessee chapter for the last year and placed a great deal of emphasis on creating structure, greater engagement, accountability and measurements within the leadership team of the chapter. He hosted several leadership retreats, developed a by-laws working group, and led multiple groups focused on chapter goals. As a result of these efforts, the chapter is one of the most profitable and well-run chapters, focused on accountability and structured engagements that led to a 40 percent growth in membership. Under Brian’s leadership, a committed and dedicated team of board members and volunteers annually produces the Summit of the Southeast conference, which hosts nearly 1000 individuals each year in Nashville, making it one of the largest HIMSS Chapter events in the country.
The HIMSS Awards Program recognizes lifetime achievement, scholarship programs, activities or publications with honors going to individuals, groups, and organizations for significant contributions to the Society, their organizations or to the health IT profession. All recipients of a HIMSS award must be a
member in good standing of HIMSS.