Broward General Medical Center physicians and their office staffs are invited to participate in the free 2011 Physician Office Staff Education Series

All physicians on staff at Broward General Medical Center and their office staffs are invited to participate in the 2011 Physician Office Staff Education Series, a program designed especially for physicians who want to enhance their practice’s customer service and office managers frustrated with new healthcare policies and procedures.
 
The series is free, and it is all about the participants. Important topics like managing stress in the office, caused by difficult people and patients, patient access, insurance verification, scheduling patients for hospital procedures, claims and collections, motivating staff, marketing and advertising, negotiating contracts with insurance carriers, case management and much more will be discussed.
 
Participants will also receive hands on training and networking opportunities. To enhance their learning experience, all speakers will accept questions prior to the lecture and address them during the session.
 
This is the second session of the series which began as a response to the needs of physicians and their office staffs. Attendees have appreciated the knowledge gained from the classes and are looking forward to future sessions.
 
“I learned something from each session and have been able to apply the concepts learned in our practice,” said Marcia McDaniels Gunn, office manager for Frank J. Lomagistro, M.D. “Coming from a hospital-affiliated office, it was a good opportunity to better understand why things are done the way they are. The speakers were knowledgeable and experienced about their topics. Moving forward, I am eager to exchange ideas on how to deal with specific issues with other physician office staffs.”
 
Classes will be held between March and October 2011, on the third Tuesday of each month from 11:30 am to 1 p.m. at Broward General Medical Center. Lunch is provided. Registration begins January 1, and class size is limited to the first 40 students, so early registration is recommended. To register for the series contact the Broward Health Line at (954) 759-7400 or Healthline@BrowardHealth.org.

More information about the series will be available at the Broward General University (BGU) open house on February 15, at noon in the Lillian S Wells Women’s Health Center.



One of the hallmarks of the education students receive at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM) and throughout the other NSU Health Professions Division programs is the much-lauded interdisciplinary aspect that offers them opportunities to interact and work side-by-side with their student peers from other health professions’ disciplines. Fortunately, that same interdisciplinary approach applies to patients who visit the university’s Interdisciplinary Fall Prevention Clinic, which is located in the NSU Sanford L. Ziff Health Care Center in Davie.

The clinic, which began as a pilot program in 2004, has proven to be a valuable community service resource that allows adults of all ages to receive a one-time comprehensive – and complimentary – health assessment from an accomplished team of NSU experts representing various health care disciplines such as audiology, geriatric medicine, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, and psychology. In addition to being a free service to South Florida residents, the Fall Prevention Clinic serves as a vital educational tool for a diverse array of NSU students, who get to witness the patient/team-approach assessment process firsthand.
 
In its current incarnation, the clinic sees about six patients per month, with each patient receiving well over two hours of assessment time during an individual session. Because the clinic is only open several afternoons a month, a copious amount of prescreening is done to provide patients with maximum benefit.
 
“The Fall Prevention Clinic is open to anybody, including people who haven’t had a fall yet but are perhaps showing some warning signs they might, as well as those who have fallen once and only had minor falls, or people who had a major fall and are still having residual balance issues and falls,” said Michelle Gagnon Blodgett, Psy.D., coordinator of geriatric clinical services for the Health Professions Division and clinical assistant professor in the NSU-COM Department of Geriatrics. “We screen potential patients on the phone ahead of time and collect some preliminary health information, such as medications being taken, which allows us to be fairly well-prepared during the actual in-person meeting.”


The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded Barry University’s Physician Assistant program $1.5 million in grants. Money from the two grants will be used to support expansion of the program into the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). The five-year project will be led by Barry faculty member Dr. Doreen C. Parkhurst, associate dean and director of the Physician Assistant (PA) program.

The PA program’s expansion into the USVI responds directly to the health care and educational needs of its residents, the objectives of Healthy People 2010 and the recommendations made in the HRSA State Health Workforce Profile for the Virgin Islands Profile. The project received full funding through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.
 


Florida National College opened its doors in 1982 with the mission of successfully integrating into the United States workforce a group of individuals that just arrived in this country, providing the necessary tools that will allow these individuals to accomplish their goals and expectations. Dr. Jose Regueiro made this dream a reality with his charisma and appeal. He involved his loving wife, Mrs. Maria Regueiro and his friend Mr. Omar Sanchez in creating the necessary conditions to make this dream come true. Presently this dream is a legacy that is arduously followed by the hundreds of people that work at FNC to assure the continuity of Dr. Regueiro’ dream. Witness to this, are the thousands of graduates who are performing with excellence and proficiency in different fields within the United States’ vast and diverse economy.

FNC is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award Bachelors and Associate degrees in different areas such as Business, Allied Health, Nursing, and Computer Sciences. FNC also offers diploma and certificate programs to meet the needs of the labor force. FNC serves the community through its 3 campuses and Distance Learning located in the Miami-Dade county area, with future plans of growing and relocating on the table to expand its services to Miami-Dade County and the surrounding areas.
 
The success of FNC is attributed to the quality of services provided to former and current students. These services include quality instruction, tutorial services, advising, job placement, financial assistance, and student activities that lead to successful academic achievement, professional development and cultural enhancement. FNC prides itself on having a team of qualified faculty members with expertise and proficiency in the art of teaching and work experience in the field who provide instruction and prepare students with the knowledge and skills needed to successfully complete their programs of studies and fulfill their career dreams. FNC also has a very qualified staff dedicated to serve the students and fulfill the college mission.
 
The College is also involved in activities that benefit the community such as participation with organizations like the Community Blood Bank, St Jude Hospital, the Upward Bound Program for at-risk high school students, and service learning projects that enable the students to complete practice hours in the fields of Ultrasound and Dental Technology while providing services to the community.
 
Florida National College Hialeah Campus has become the flagship higher learning institution in this city by being the first private college to serve this community and the South Campus has provided services to the south and west Miami sections for more than 8 years. Florida National College continues to grow and expand its services in order to perpetuate the legacy of its founder and leader Dr. Jose Regueiro.


The field of biomedical informatics is creating great opportunities to assist clinicians with the transition from paper to electronic medical records (EMRs), and help them overcome barriers to the adoption of health information technology in order to meet the information demand of the health care system. Healthcare organizations are focusing on the necessary integration of technology and medical applications, which require significant input and leadership. Providing leadership to advance clinical information systems in order to bring evidence-based medicine to the point of care consistent with mission and strategy is of growing importance. These new leadership opportunities are in high demand!

Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU’s) Biomedical Informatics program spans a broad range of learning activities in health information technologies (HIT), including the developmentof systems and applications in support of the health care environment. Graduate students are involved in these endeavors, and the main theme of the program’s education and training is creating the leaders who are bridging the gap between medicine and technology. The program actively engages students in integrative practicum projects supported by collaborations with the community, faculty, and researchers throughout the university. NSU’s M.S.B.I. Program is partners with the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)’s 10×10 program.
Special topics in health, consumer, clinical, and medical informatics are purposed to facilitate mastering concepts and tools.
 
The course of study is designed such that working professionals will complement their background with new expertise and without career disruption. The 43 credits required for the degree can be taken completely online. In addition to the Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics degree, graduate certificates in Medical Informatics and Public Health Informatics are also available.
 
As a student in Nova Southeastern University’s Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics Program, I have discovered intellectual fulfillment. I am inspired to pursue my goal to enter medical school with an emphasis on developing strong doctor-IT relationships. My background in computer science with over 15 years as a statistical applications programmer in the pharmaceutical, psychiatric, and family medicine fields has provided me with invaluable experience and insight into the potential problems in health care information technology. I have also enjoyed the opportunities to network and learn along with my fellow students in the program who have come from very different backgrounds, e.g., IT, healthcare, business management, education, etc. I look forward to the opportunity to work with health care executives in assisting them to improve quality, reduce medical errors, and save administrative costs. These are the main reasons for growth of the health care IT market, and why I am glad I have chosen to pursue this degree at Nova Southeastern University’s Biomedical Informatics Program.