Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/996776
Patients, Customers or Both? I N A N E R A when smartphone apps succeed or fail based on how intuitive they are about what users want, it is not surprising that patients increasingly view themselves as customers. They have a point, says Len Schlesinger, Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School. Writing on the athenahealth website athenaInsight, Schlesinger explains some benefi ts and limits of that model. In matters such as scheduling and billing, patients indeed should be viewed as customers, according to Schlesinger. "How patients are treated in these 'moment-of-truth' interactions will determine their likelihood of referring other patients, or indeed remaining patients themselves," he observes. However, in clinical interactions, Schlesinger adds, patients are more like partners, or even employees. They must adhere to medication regimens, follow up on referrals and so forth. Those tasks, while deserving of support from clinical staff, cannot be reduced to a mere transaction. n — Steve Barrett Nursing a Shortage of Nurse Educators T H E P H Y S I C I A N S H O R TA G E is not occurring in isolation. The need for nurses is also rising rapidly as the U.S. population ages and chronic diseases become more widespread, according to recent research from Duquesne University. Among the data supporting this view: Americans ages 65 or older will number 69 million by 2030 and nearly 89 million by 2050. Yet the nurse population is not rising fast enough to keep up. American Association of Colleges of Nursing data indicate that budget concerns, limited classroom space and inadequate faculty in nursing schools are just a few of the reasons why more than 68,000 qualifi ed applicants were denied admission in 2014 alone. The silver lining, according to the Duquesne researchers, is that these conditions create a solid job market for nurse educators. Median U.S. salary in this fi eld is more than $69,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, and potential benefi ts of this career path include fl exible work schedules and opportunities to take part in research. n — Steve Barrett Mentorship Boosts Children's Health Coverage U N I N S U R E D L AT I N O C H I L D R E N in Texas whose parents were mentored by other parents who had obtained Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage for their own children were more likely to obtain coverage than those who received only the usual state enrollment outreach. At one-year follow-up, the two groups' rates of obtaining coverage were 95 percent and 69 percent, respectively, according to a University of Connecticut School of Medicine study published in Health Affairs. The paid, trained mentors, who were also Latino, performed tasks such as helping parents submit applications, and they served as liaisons between the families and the government programs. Additionally, they helped families fi nd medical homes for their children and addressed issues such as poverty that can affect health. n — Steve Barrett 2 0❱❱❱❱❱ B U S I N E S S O F M E D I C I N E 2 0