Are Medical Errors Inevitable?
According to Tatsiana Singh, PA-C, Indiana State University Sycamore Center for Wellness, at an individual level, each Physician Assistant (PA) or healthcare provider should aim at staying up-to-date, reflecting on their workdays, and discerning whether there was a situation that was a close call and how it could be prevented in the future. Being a good team player is critical for PAs particularly and not being frightened to solicit another opinion and verify the diagnosis.
Diagnostic and Treatment Practices in Rheumatoid Arthritis
At AAPA 2017, Benjamin Smith, PA-C, DFAAPA, Florida State University College of Medicine, discussed the tremendous advances in both treating and diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis. About 15 years ago, the CCP lab tests came about, which certainly help with specificity for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Regular Screening Is Key for Hepatitis C
"One of the big problems we're having right now is trying to identify these patients with hepatitis C," Rick Davis, PA-C, University of Florida College of Medicine told MD Magazine. "We've found that the birth cohort of baby boomers (1945-1965) has the highest prevalence of infection, and now we're starting to see the results of that."
The Neurological and Psychiatric Crossover of Epilepsy Research
Stephanie Chen, MSN, MPH, NP-C, Barrow Neurological Institute, also discussed goals of The VA Epilepsy Centers of Excellence, a national consortium aiming to provide high quality epilepsy care and educational resources to patients and their caregivers.