Modern Practice Podcast

In this episode, we discuss a topic that clinicians would rather avoid at times, diagnosing mental health. It can take clinicians out of their comfort zone and has little financial incentive. However, it's important to make that diagnosis when needed, and this podcast will examine why.   Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal, Clinical Operations and Quality Vizient   G...

In this episode, we finish our three-part series updating therapeutic approaches in the field of electrophysiology. Joining us again is a leader in the field, who explains ablation therapies for atrial fibrillation, including the latest therapy to emerge: pulsed field ablation. Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal Clinical Operations and Quality Vizient Guest: Thomas...

On this episode of our award-winning podcast, a leading expert in electrophysiology explains the pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation and how therapies for it have evolved over the years, with pulsed field ablation emerging as the newest approach. Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal Clinical Operations and Quality Vizient Guest: Thomas Munger, MD Chair, Heart Rhyth...

Atrial fibrillation ablation therapies have progressed from rather primitive approaches to improved treatments that have emerged in recent years. In this series of our award-winning podcast, we discuss the history of the practice of electrophysiology and improvements that field has experienced. Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal, Clinical Operations and Quality Vizi...

Years of medical school, residency and fellowships have proven to do little in teaching physicians how to care for themselves. Physician burnout is at an all-time high. On this episode, a physician who is a  leading expert on physician stress discusses how to improve mental fitness in those who’ve given their lives to the care of others. Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Pri...

This episode of our award-winning podcast continues the discussion on why mental fitness is so crucial for physicians and other clinicians today and yet is a concept that physicians still tend to avoid or downplay. Physician training and medical school have not helped. Join us for this gritty discussion. Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal Clinical Operations and Qua...

Though physicians spend years in medical school, residency and fellowships to learn how to care for patients, they spend little time learning how to care for themselves. Physician burnout, leading to physician turnover, is skyrocketing. On this episode, a physician who is a  leading expert on physician stress, having gone through that stress herself, discusses how to improve mental fitness in thos...

This episode continues examining effective coding and documentation for sepsis cases and the impact accurate coding practices can have on clinicians and hospital operations. Paying attention to those who have sepsis present on admission (POA) is crucial to the process. Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal Clinical Operations and Quality Vizient Guest: Linda Wiseman, B...

For decades, clinicians have known that effective intervention in sepsis cases relies universally on early diagnosis. Yet, despite this fact, sepsis remains a tough challenge.  One in three patients dying in the hospital will have sepsis. Even more importantly for documentation, 87 percent of patients in the hospital with sepsis had it before admission. This episode examines ways to improve both d...

Simon Henley was on a video call with his manager when he suddenly disappeared from the screen. He had fallen to the floor with a cardiac arrest. Not to be confused with an acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest is usually fatal, requiring a defibrillator and immediate CPR to revive the patient. On this episode, Simon tells his harrowing story, one with a touch of the miraculous, in how he su...

On this episode, Tom completes his discussion with a physician leader whose team has developed a tool for an oncology floor that has improved communication among clinicians. Based on the SBAR approach (Situation – Background – Assessment – Recommendation), the tool has seen phenomenal results. Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal Clinical Operations and Quality Vizien...

For the first time on this award-winning podcast, a faithful listener is sitting in the guest seat as he shares an exciting tool his team has developed to improve communication on an oncology floor. Join Tom as he continues his discussion with Dr. Dev Mannuru on this SBAR-based tool (Situation – Background – Assessment – Recommendation) that has produced phenomenal results.   Moderator: Tomas Vill...

This episode features a physician who is a long-term listener to the podcast and developed an exciting process with his clinical colleagues. He joins the program to discuss the tool that has improved communication among staff and patients on the oncology floor.   Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal Clinical Operations and Quality Vizient   Guest: Devendranath (Dev) M...

This edition of our award-winning podcast finishes the discussion on how improving relationships with hospital staff, particularly clinical staff, can bring improvement in documentation. This can then improve patient care and reimbursement.   Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal Clinical Operations and Quality Vizient   Guest: Amber Sterling, RN, BSN, CCDS Senior Cons...

On this episode, we continue examining how improving relationships with hospital staff, particularly clinical staff, can bring improvement in documentation, which can then improve patient care and reimbursement.   Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal, Clinical Operations and Quality Vizient   Guest: Amber Sterling, RN, BSN, CCDS Senior Consultant, Clinical Documentati...

Counteracting errors in clinical documentation can improve care for the patient and reimbursement for the health care organization by giving a true picture of the care offered. On this episode, we discuss how improving relationships with hospital staff, particularly clinical staff, can bring improvement in documentation.   Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal, Clinica...

This episode of our award-winning podcast continues examining the impact of risk adjustment models and methodologies. Knowing the models and their updates is crucial to full reimbursement for the patient’s care.   Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal, Clinical Operations and Quality Vizient   Guest: Jim Tamburini, BS, RHIT, CCS, CCS-P, CDIP Senior Consulting Director,...

This episode of our award-winning podcast examines the impact of risk adjustment models and methodologies. Knowing the models and their updates is crucial to full reimbursement for the patient’s care.   Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal, Clinical Operations and Quality Vizient   Guest: Jim Tamburini, BS, RHIT, CCS, CCS-P, CDIP Senior Consulting Director, Clinical D...

This episode of our award-winning podcast continues an examination of the CMS Star mortality rating, its significance and what clinical practices and organizations can do to improve their mortality scores.   Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal, Clinical Operations and Quality Vizient   Guests: Linda Wiseman, BSN, RN, CCDS Senior Consulting Director, Clinical Document...

This episode of our award-winning podcast begins a two-part series on the CMS Star Rating. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) provide the star rating system to evaluate health and drug services for the benefit of patients, enabling them to make informed care decisions. The next two episodes will examine the star mortality rating specifically, its significance and what clinical pr...

On this episode of our award-winning podcast, Tom continues his discussion with two leading pharmacy experts on what medications and classes of medications are in expedited approval and what this means for patients in overall efficacy and safety, the benefits and the drawbacks.   Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal, Clinical Operations and Quality Vizient   Guests: J...

During the COVID pandemic, the vaccine approval process went from eight years to a few months. In addition, the FDA has used several expedited approval pathways, starting in the 1990s with HIV treatments and continuing today. On the next two episodes, Tom talks with two leading experts on these various approval pathways, what medications are on the approval fast track, and other considerations reg...

On this episode of our award-winning podcast, we continue to examine the importance of social determinants of health (SDOH), the conditions in which patients are born and live. This discussion will provide ways organizations and practices can address SDOH and improve crucial patient outcomes. Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal, Clinical Operations and Quality Vizien...

“In the long run, housing may be more important to health than hospitals.” This surprising quote points out the fact that only 20 percent of the nation’s health is the result of clinical care. Social determinants of health (SDOH), the conditions in which individuals are born and live, drive over 50 percent of a patient’s health. SDOH include circumstances such as socioeconomic status and physical...

This episode of the award-winning podcast continues examining major changes in E/M coding guidelines for this year. There are a number of key revisions and deletions that could impact your practice.   Moderator: Tomas Villanueva, DO, MBA, FACPE, SFHM Senior Principal, Clinical Operations and Quality Vizient   Guest: Sheila Bowlds, MBA Senior Consulting Director, Clinical Documentation Improvement...