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May 2007

Practice Teams Invigorated At PRISM 2
Nearly 150 people from primary care practices attended the MaineHealth Learning Community's second Practice Improvement Series Meeting (PRISM) on May 3rd at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport. Highlights included an inspirational talk on high performance teams by Jane Boucher, a nationally known motivational speaker, and presentations on the future of the EMR and Pay for Performance. One participant said that, "The presentations were excellent and delivered in a way that was easy to think about their application. It was the best session yet!" To view presentations from the day, please click here.

You won't want to miss PRISM 3 on September 20, 2007! To register, send an email to mhlc@mmc.org or call 541-7558.

Save the Date for the Health, Culture and Literacy Conference in Freeport this coming October
Join MaineHealth and The University of New England Save at the Health, Culture and Literacy Conference coming up on October 26, 2007 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Anne Fadiman, best-selling author of "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" about the Hmong population in California, will be the keynote speaker. Workshops will include: Diverse Populations in Maine, Cultural Competency in Rural Settings, Informed Consent and Health Literacy, Health Literacy of American Adults, Getting Started in your Office Setting. You will leave with evidence-based tools and resources to improve your ability to communicate healthcare information more effectively. For more information, contact the MaineHealth Learning Resource Centers at 885-8570!

One in 3 US Children Lives With at Least 1 Adult Smoker
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), about one in three US children aged 18 years or younger may face increased risk for respiratory and other conditions because they live with at least one smoker. Secondhand smoke is particularly harmful to children. In addition to increasing the risk for serious lung disease during a child's first two years of life, secondhand smoke can aggravate asthma symptoms and make children more likely to cough, wheeze, or have a middle-ear problem.

This information is from HCUPnet, an online query system that provides access to health statistics and information on hospital stays from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) sponsored by AHRQ. To access HCUPnet, go to
http://hcup.ahrq.gov/HCUPnet.asp

For patients who need help with tobacco cessation, refer them to the Maine Tobacco Helpline at 1-800-207-1230 or http://www.tobaccoindependence.org/

For more information about this topic or to find out more about MaineHealth Clinical Integration's Award Winning AH! (Asthma Health) Program, please contact:

Donna Levi, MS
AH! (Asthma Health) Program Manager
Maine Health, Clinical Integration
465 Congress St. Suite 301
Portland, ME 04101
Phone: 207-541-7566
FAX: 207-541-7547
E-mail: levid@mmc.org
Website: www.mainehealth.org

Partnership for Healthy Aging Announces Collaboration to Disseminate Evidence-based Programs to Older Adults
Partnership for Healthy Aging is collaborating with Maine's Office of Elder Services (OES), Maine's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Southern Maine Agency on Aging and other community and healthcare partners to implement and disseminate evidence-based programs to older adults in the MaineHealth community. This is part of a statewide program, Healthy Choices for ME, in which four evidence based programs will be disseminated: Living Well – Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, Matter of Balance/Volunteer Lay Leader Model, EnhanceWellness and EnhanceFitness. This project is funded in part by the Administration on Aging, under an award to the OES. The program empowers older people to take more control of their own health through life style and behavioral changes. Contact the Partnership for Healthy Aging at pfha@mmc.org or 775-1075 for information on programs in your area.

For more information about this topic or to find out more about the Partnership for Healthy Aging, please contact:

Peggy Haynes, MPA
Director of the Partnership for Healthy Aging
465 Congress Street, 7th Floor
Portland, ME 04101
Phone: 775-1095
Email: haynem@mmc.org

Screening CVD Patients for Diabetes Could Prevent Complications
Have all your patients with CVD been screened for diabetes within the last three years? If not, perhaps you can help prevent some of them from developing diabetes complications by finding an early diagnosis. Read a Daily Health Policy Report from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which found that Three in Five Diabetics Experience At Least One High-Cost Complication Related to Disease, by clicking here.

Daniel Einhorn of the Sharp Diabetes Treatment and Research Center, and a board member of the Endocrinology Association, said that "the report shows we are failing in the primary mission of preventing complications. The problem is that people don't recognize diabetes early enough, so by the time of diagnosis, about half of people with diabetes already have a complication that took years to develop" (USA Today, 4/10). He added, "We are using the tools (to control diabetes) too late and spending too much money on complications" (Los Angeles Times, 4/11).

To assist you with early diagnosis of diabetes in your population of patients with CVD, use the MaineHealth CIR CVD Progress Report to identify those patients that have not been screened for diabetes in the past three years and develop a process to get them screened. If you need help with developing such a process, contact MHLC@mmc.org for information on Coaching: One Step at a Time, a program offered through the MaineHealth Learning Community.

For more information on this topic or to find out more about MaineHealth Clinical Integration's Award Winning Target Diabetes Program, please contact:

Kristina Scrutchfield
Target Diabetes Program Manager
465 Congress Street, Suite 301
Portland, ME 04101
Phone: 541-7534
Fax: 541-7547
Email: scrutk@mmc.org

Maine Center for Diabetes Study Recruitement on Inhaled Insulin and Combination Oral Medications

Attention ALL Primary Care Physicians;
The Maine Center for Diabetes is currently recruiting patients with type 2 diabetes to participate in a research study using inhaled insulin and combination oral medications. This study is for patients with type 2 diabetes who have not been previously treated with insulin, but who might benefit from mealtime insulin. The oral agents used in this study are metformin, glimepiride and rosiglitazone. It is an open label, randomized study lasting 34 weeks with the first 8 weeks used for screening and run-in period followed by 26 weeks on randomized medication.

If you have patients in your practice that you would like to have participate in the study, please click here to download an informational brochure and ask them to contact Cynthia Hull (hullc1@mmc.org or 207-885-7572). If you have additional questions please call or email: Dr. Devlin (devlij@mmc.org), Julie Barnes (barnejs@mmc.org) or Cynthia Hull (hullc1@mmc.org) at 207-885-7572.

Free Diabetes Workshop and Study
Kate Lorig, RN, DrPH, from Stanford School of Medicine is sponsoring a free on-line workshop and study to help people with Type 2 diabetes manage the problems caused by diabetes.
What is the Diabetes Workshop and Study?

  • A 6 week, highly-interactive, online small-group workshop
  • A research study to evaluate the workshop's effectiveness

Who may participate?

  • Adults living in the United States with type 2 diabetes

Benefits of joining
Patients will:

  • Learn to manage symptoms better
  • Learn to manage blood glucose (sugar) better
  • Learn ways to balance food, exercise, medication and stress
  • Learn tips to manage day-to-day activities
  • Get support from others with diabetes
  • Share experiences and help others

Interested patients should send an e-mail of interest to diabetes@stanford.edu

For more information contact:
Kate Lorig RN DrPH
Professor
Stanford Pt. Education Research Center
1000 Welch Rd, Suite 204
Palo Alto, CA 94304
Phone 650-723-7935
Fax 650-725-9422
Lorig@Stanford.edu
http://patienteducation.stanford.edu

Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR D)

Article by Dr. Peter Amann

Cardiovascular Disease is Leading Killer of Women
The American Heart Association's Expert Panel states that "despite research-based gains in the treatment of Cardiovascular Disease, it remains the leading killer of women in the United States and in most developed areas of the world." A recently released update titled, Evidence-based Guidelines for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Women was featured in Circulation, the Journal of the American Heart Association. Please click here to review the article.

For more information about this topic or the Cardiovascular Health Program at MaineHealth, please contact:

Cindy Richards
Program Manager, Cardiovascular Health Program
465 Congress Street, Suite 301
Portland, ME 04101
Phone: 541-7545
Email: richac2@mmc.org

  
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