January 2007

Medical Staff Bulletin

Contents

Message from the Chief of Staff
2006 is rapidly drawing to a close. Most of us welcome the opportunity presented by this holiday season to catch our breath and reflect, however briefly, on the year that was. While the pace has been frenetic, it has been a very good year at YNHH. We began by renewing our commitment to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) 100,000 Lives Campaign. Consistent with this initiative, we set a goal of establishing Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) for all services, and these are now in place. By all accounts, the RRTs are a spectacular success and the same can be said for virtually all segments of our Clinical Performance Management Program. This month has brought the IHI announcement of its 5 Million Lives Campaign with new national focus on preventing MRSA infections, reducing harm from high-alert medications, reducing surgical complications and preventing pressure ulcers. YNHH is already well underway implementing related initiatives, and we will shortly describe these in our regular Performance Management Updates.

Successful searches have been conducted by the Hospital and School for a number of new clinical leaders, several of whom are featured in this Bulletin. We again received wonderful recognition of our clinical programs by U.S. News & World Report, re-established our stroke program on solid footing, expanded our inpatient diabetes consult service, and successfully reorganized services at the Shoreline Medical and Temple Surgical Centers. Our GME programs are stronger and had a great recruiting season. Our clinical information system has expanded capability, and I call special attention to the new link between Sunrise Clinical Manager and Synapse described in this Bulletin.

Perhaps most exciting of all in 2006 was the breaking of the deadlock on construction of our new cancer hospital. As events of the last weeks have demonstrated, this may yet prove a winding road, but it is unlikely our community will permit it to be sidetracked again.

I cannot say too often how grateful we are for the support and wonderful expertise our medical staff brings to our patients, trainees and this Hospital. May your few holidays be renewing and 2007 great for you and your family.

Guidelines for interactions with pharmaceutical companies
Interactions between the pharmaceutical industry, prescribers and academic medical centers have received much scrutiny. To avoid potential conflicts of interest, the hospital’s policy on the activities of pharmaceutical representatives has been revised. Key changes include:

• Food and beverages may not be provided by pharmaceutical companies to departments or individual employees.
• Promotional and marketing materials may not be distributed by company representatives.
• Pharmaceutical company employees may not be present in any patient care area, including conference rooms located on the unit, at any time. Meetings should be arranged in a place that does not require travel through a patient care area.

Pharmaceutical and medical service company representatives who fail to comply with the policy may be excluded from conducting business at YNHH. Yale School of Medicine also recently revised its Conflict of Interest Guidelines, which were published in Academic Medicine 2006; 81:154-160. These two documents provide unified guidelines to the pharmaceutical industry on conduct of business on the medical campus. For a copy of the complete hospital guidelines or for questions relating to them, please contact the Department of Pharmacy Services at 688-8456.

Viewing radiology images in SCM – An exciting advance
Sunrise Clinical Manager (SCM) now has available a direct link from Diagnostic Radiology text results to the image associated with that result. Images are viewable from any workstation that currently uses Synapse and SCM.

To view an image for a particular patient and exam, in the results panel, click on the study of interest and before opening the text report, click on the tiny camera. Further log-in is not necessary. Using SCM to view Synapse does not provide all the features on the Synapse toolbar, but it should be useful for clinicians. Right click on images for additional Synapse functions. Detailed viewing of films will continue to be best done directly in Synapse.

For more information, contact Marcia Dobrowski, Manager, R.N., Clinical Applications, Information Systems/Technology, 688-7579.

Dr. Jack Elias named new Chief of Internal Medicine
Jack A. Elias, M.D., currently the Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, was named Chief of the Department of Internal Medicine, effective Oct. 1, 2006. Dr. Elias received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and was an intern and resident at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston. He returned to Penn as a senior resident and completed fellowships there in both Allergy and Immunology and in Pulmonary Medicine. Dr. Elias came to Yale in 1990 as Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Allergy and Immunology and Critical Care Medicine. He has established an international reputation for pioneering work on asthma.

Dr. James Tsai named Chief of Ophthalmology
James C. Tsai, M.D., was named chief of ophthalmology at Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH) and chair of ophthalmology and visual science at Yale University School of Medicine, effective Oct. 1. Previously, Dr. Tsai was associate professor of ophthalmology and director of the glaucoma division at Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute at Columbia University in New York. Dr. Tsai graduated from Amherst College and earned his medical degree at Stanford University. He complete his internship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; his residency at the University of Southern California/Doheny Eye Institute; and fellowships at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami, and Moorfields Eye Hospital, Institute of Ophthalmology, London. He earned his M.B.A. at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Tsai’s research and clinical practice have focused on glaucoma.

Dr. Fred Volkmar appointed Chief of Child Psychiatry
Fred R. Volkmar, M.D., an international expert in the field of autism, has been appointed chief of Child Psychiatry at Yale-New Haven Hospital and director of the Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Volkmar earned his master’s and medical degrees at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he subsequently completed a residency in psychiatry. In 1980, he completed a fellowship in child psychiatry at the Yale Child Study Center and has been on the faculty of Yale University since 1982. He has been a consulting psychiatrist to the Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital since 1992. Dr. Volkmar is a member of several professional and national service organizations and will serve as the editor of the Journal of Autism next year.

YNHH enhances Service Excellence initiative
In a concerted, hospital-wide effort to improve patient satisfaction with their hospital experience and to ensure a positive experience for patients and a rewarding environment for employees, the hospital has launched its new Service Excellence initiative. Patient satisfaction scores, as measured by Press-Ganey, have not reflected YNHH standards. Richard D’Aquila, executive vice president and COO, is leading the effort with the help of eight teams, some of which began their work this summer. The teams include: Post-discharge phone call follow-ups; Emergency Department improvement; manager rounding; noise reduction; recognition and rewards; staff education; department plans; and communication. Subsequent issues of the Medical Staff Bulletin will highlight progress and accomplishments of the various teams.

Free flu shots available
Members of the Medical Staff can get a free flu shots at Occupational Health Services in East Pavilion-1, CCSS room 40. For information, call Dr. Mark Russi, director of Occupational Health Services at 688-2462.

Welcome, new Medical Staff:

November
Kenneth Elliot Baker, M.D., Attending, Diagnostic Radiology;
James P. Hummel, M.D., Attending, Internal Medicine;
Jenia Jenab-Wolcott, M.D., Ph.D., Associate, Internal Medicine;
Rae Ann Kingsley, A.P.N., Affiliated, Anesthesiology;
Elspeth Knill-Selby, A.P.N., Affiliated, Surgery;
Michael Lalonde, P.A., Affiliated, Surgery;
David A. Listman, M.D., Attending, Pediatrics;
Jacqueline Sanz, P.A., Affiliated, Internal Medicine;
Robert T. Spector, M.D., Attending, Ophthalmology;
James C. Tsai, M.D., Attending, Ophthalmology;
Charles Nathan Walker, M.D., Associate, Surgery;


December
Amy Barile, A.P.N., Affiliated, Internal Medicine;
Allison Cable, A.P.N., Affiliated, Internal Medicine;
Stephanie Carroll, P.A., Affiliated, Surgery;
Charles H. Cha, M.D., Attending, Surgery;
Neera Dahl, M.D., Attending, Internal Medicine;
Sarah Fountain, P.A., Affiliated, Neurosurgery;
Brett Ives, A.P.N., Affiliated, Pediatrics;
Hae Jin Kim, P.A., Affiliated, Surgery;
George Michael Kleinman, M.D., Attending, Pathology;
Heather Sue Lipkind, M.D., Associate, Obstetrics & Gynecology;
Nandhitha Natesan, M.D., Associate, Internal Medicine;
Genice Nelson, A.P.N., Affiliated, Internal Medicine;
Cristina L. Santos, D.M.D., Associate, Dentistry;
John Sceppa, P.A., Affiliated, Orthopedics;
Matthew Simmons, P.A., Affiliated, Internal Medicine;
Gabrielle Troisi, P.A., Affiliated, Surgery;

Refer items for the next issue of Medical Staff Bulletin via phone, fax, e-mail or mail to:
Peter N. Herbert, MD
1063 Clinic Building
P: (203) 688-2604, F: (203) 688-7152
herbertpn@ynhh.org
or
Katie Murphy
Marketing & Communications
GB 443
P: (203) 688-2492, F: (203) 688-2491
Katie.Murphy@ynhh.org

Back issues of the Medical Staff Bulletin:

• November 2006
• September 2006
• July 2006
• June 2006
• May 2006
• March 2006
• January 2006
• December 2005
• November 2005
• September 2005
• August 2005
• June 2005
• March 2005
• January 2005
• December 2004
• November 2004
• October 2004
• September 2004
• July 2004
• June 2004
• May 2004
• April 2004
• March 2004
• February 2004
• January 2004
• January/February 2003
• October/November 2002
• August/September 2002
• April/May 2002
• February/March 2002
• January 2002
• November 2001
• July/August 2001

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Last revised: Nov. 21, 2006 (dh)

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