Medicine News Archive
Robert Phillips, MD, PhD director of the Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence and senior vice president of the Medical Center, has become senior editor of the Journal of Clinical Hypertension (JCH). Dr. Phillips was chosen for his continued support of the JCH, which is a peer-reviewed, monthly publication providing objective, up-to-date information and practical recommendations on the treatment of hypertension. (News & Views, September 1, 2009)
The Division of Hospital Medicine rolls out an electronic clinical documentation and charge capture program on the University Campus today. The Salar program is already in place at Clinton and Marlborough Hospitals and the Memorial Campus thanks to the initiative of Jasen Gundersen, MD, chief medical officer at Marlborough Hospital and division chief of hospital medicine for the Medical Center. Dr. Gundersen introduced the Salar program to further ensure patient safety, enhance efficiency and improve communication. Salar representatives and the UMMHC IS team provide training on the new program, which Dr. Gundersen said offers tremendous potential for use throughout the system. (News & Views, August 27, 2009)
An article on the front page of today's Telegram and Gazette touts UMass Memorial as the number one hospital in Massachusetts and all of New England for surviving a heart attack. Robert Phillips, MD, PhD, director or the Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence, and senior vice president of the Medical Center, is featured discussing how our door-to-balloon times contribute to the number one ranking. Read the article at www.telegram.com. (News & Views, July 21, 2009)
To expand our reach, UMass Memorial is looking at effective ways to use telemedicine technology. An upcoming collaboration is with the Federal Medical Center Devens, a correctional facility on the former Fort Devens (Ayer) property housing male offenders requiring long-term health care. A satellite facility houses minimum security male inmates. To reduce the need to bring prisoners to our Medical Center, this July we launch a telemedicine effort to provide selected gastroenterology services remotely. The effort is under the direction of Dominic Nompleggi, MD, and John Levey, MD, chief and clinical chief of Gastroenterology, respectively. (News & Views, June 29, 2009)
Deborah M. DeMarco, MD & Gyongyi Szabo, MD, PhD have been named fellows of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women at the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. The nation’s only in-depth program focused on preparing senior women faculty at schools of medicine and dentistry to affect positive change. ELAM is a core program of Drexel’s Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership. (Drexel University Press Release, June 8, 2009; see announcement in PDF)
The Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program has been re-certified by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, the organization that writes the national guidelines for these programs and certifies individual programs after an intensive review of their policies and patient outcomes. Our program is one of just five certified programs in Massachusetts. Congratulations to the staff of both the Lung and Allergy Center/Pulmonary Diagnostic Lab and the Fitness Center for their collaboration on this successful service. (News & Views, 5/27/09)
CHEST, the official journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, was selected by the Biomedical and Life Sciences Division of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) as one of the 100 most influential journals in the world in medicine and biology in the past 100 years. The journal’s editorial office has been located at the Medical School since 2005. Richard Irwin, MD, Pulmonary Medicine, chair of our Critical Care Operations Committee, serves as its editor in chief. CHEST was also named among the 34 most influential journals in clinical medicine and allied health sciences. (News & Views, 5/11/09)
The American Cancer Society awarded the UMass Memorial Cancer Center a $360,000 Institutional Research Grant to fund careers in cancer research. The grant supports investigators who are at the early stages of their careers to enable them to begin new programs. Cancer Center leaders expressed appreciation for the grant noting that it recognizes our commitment to develop cancer research programs that focus on fundamental regulatory mechanisms in tumor cells. It also recognizes the center’s focus on clinical research into how errors in biological control provide a platform for new cancer diagnosis and treatment. (News & Views, 4/22/09)
Learn about how to make the most from a primary care visit. Chief Quality Officer Bob Klugman, MD, is front and center in a video produced by the Partnership for HealthCare Excellence titled “Preparing for a Health Care Visit.” Link here to take a look: http://www.partnershipforhealthcare.org/. (News & Views, 4/22/09)
Robert Phillips, MD (Cardiovascular Medicine) director of the Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence, and senior vice president of the Medical Center, recently co-chaired a session at the American College of Cardiology 2009 conference. The topic, “Opportunities and threat: How the Cardiovascular Center of Excellence Challenges and Shapes an Academic Medical Center,” featured a panel of five distinguished cardiologists from across the country. (News & Views, 4/17/09)
Congratulations to Robert Weinstein, MD, chief of Transfusion Medicine, on being named president-elect of the World Apheresis Association (WAA) during the 12th biennial Congress of the World Apheresis Association held in Buenos Aires, Argentina earlier this month. While attending the Congress, Dr. Weinstien cochaired a symposium on Apheresis Medicine: Evidence, Excellence and Clinical Decision Making, as well as presenting medical grand rounds at Fundaleu (Fundacion Para Combatir La Leucemia). (News & Views 4/13/09)