Health Equity and Clinical Research

The Critical Role of Non-Narcotic Postoperative Pain Management in a Value-Based Care System Elevating Patient Outcomes in a New Healthcare Paradigm "In healthcare, we have to have a sense of urgency. People are counting on us. We have to act as though somebody's life depends on us...because somebody's life does depend on us."  - Dr. David Feinberg The previous article discussed various current and near-future types of non-narcotic postoperative analgesia. This article will explore how these non-narcotic postoperative pain management strategies fit into the Value-Based Care (VBC) model and why they are critical for its success. This sentiment is ever more pertinent as the healthcare industry makes an epochal shift towards a Value-Based Care (VBC) system. With this system, healthcare is not about the number of treatments but about the quality of outcomes, and it is here that non-narcotic postoperative pain management comes to the forefront. Immediate Benefits: Beyond P...

Non-Narcotic Postoperative Analgesia: Current Methods and Future Prospects Charting the Progress in Pain Management " Better is possible. It does not take genius. It takes diligence. It takes moral clarity. It takes ingenuity. And above all, it takes a willingness to try. "  - Dr. Atul Gawande Postoperative pain, a common and often debilitating experience, can significantly interfere with a patient's recovery from surgery and return to normal activities. In the past, doctors prescribed opioids like morphine and hydrocodone to treat this type of pain. While effective, these medications carry severe risks, including addiction, overdose, and respiratory depression. This reality has catalyzed a paradigm shift towards non-narcotic analgesics for postoperative pain management. As the first part of our series on "Transforming Postoperative Pain Management: Innovations, Implications, and the Future," we delve into these non-narcotic alternatives that offer fewer side ef...

Can We Drive Innovation to Bridge the Gap between Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity? “If access to health care is considered a human right, who is considered human enough to have that right?”  - Paul Farmer In the ever-evolving healthcare landscape, this poignant question resonates with me. As a healthcare consultant specializing in organizational strategy and business development, I frequently find myself at the intersection of health equity, social determinants of health (SDOH), and primary care innovation. This intersection holds the key to transforming our healthcare system. The symbiotic relationship between SDOH and health equity is undeniable, as both significantly influence patient outcomes and overall healthcare costs. However, a critical bridge between these factors and primary care innovation still needs to be completed, posing a hurdle in our journey towards an equitable healthcare system. In a value-based care environment, it becomes increasingly essentia...

Reframing Chronic Care: Unveiling the Potential of Social Determinants and Patient Data “The greatest opportunity to improve health and reduce premature deaths lies in personal behavior... In many cases, the most effective health interventions involve modifying behavior, changing the context to make individuals’ default decisions healthy, and providing preventive care.”  -  Robert M. Kaplan, Former Chief Science Officer, US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality The rapidly evolving healthcare landscape has brought to light an intriguing and increasingly recognized concept: the social determinants of health (SDOH). SDOH are conditions in the environments where people live, learn, work, and play that affect various health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. Identifying and managing chronic diseases in older adults is crucial, and they play a significant role in this process. With the growing importance of patient-generated data (PGD), healthcare providers ...