JUNE 2003 A periodic round-up of news from Johns Hopkins Medicine designed to give busy executives easy-to-read reports and useful information from one of the region's largest private employers.
Sometimes events at an academic medical center like Johns Hopkins make headlines, but at other times important developments barely receive notice. Both are on display in this month’s e-newsletter.
Please let us know if you have questions or comments about any of these topics. We welcome your suggestions. Comments and questions may be sent to: jhmedicine@jhmi.edu
HOPKINS TOPS ALL MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN NIH FUNDING
An 11 percent increase in grants awarded to Hopkins investigators once again puts the School of Medicine at the head of its class in funding by the National Institutes of Health. MAJOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONTRACTS TAKE CENTER STAGE
Hopkins Medicine gets OK from state to spend $28 million on IT systems for physician orders and operating room management. Stephanie Reel, vice president for information technologies, discusses the project. RELATED NEWS: Overhaul of business administrative systems enters Phase 2
Plans for a single, integrated software system to replace financial and administrative IT at both the Johns Hopkins Health System and Johns Hopkins University are proceeding. Read the news article and a letter explaining the process to Hopkins Medicine employees.
Integrated Software Systems on the Horizon RED TAPE SQUEEZES ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE
Administrative complexity impedes patients from receiving proper mental health services, according to a national survey of 7,000 primary care physicians. What’s needed, say Hopkins researchers, are uniform, streamlined procedures for obtaining mental health services. WMAR TELETHON FOR CHILDREN’S CENTER RAISES $1.1 MILLION
A 10-hour Children’s Miracle Network Telethon on WMAR-TV tops its goal by raising $1.1 million for patient care at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. Nearly $33 million has been donated through this annual event since 1984.
DR. BEN CARSON TO HELP SEPARATE ADULT CONJOINED TWINS IN SINGAPORE
The director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center participates next month in an international effort to separate 29-year-old female Iranian twins, who are conjoined at the head.EXPERIENCE, NOT AGE, COUNTS FOR AIRLINE PILOTS
Hopkins researchers say a pilot's experience is a better indicator of crash risk than age. In a study of 3,306 commuter plane pilots, those with more than 5,000 hours of flight experience had less than half the risk of a crash. ANTI-DEPRESSANT SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES HOT FLASHES
Researchers at Johns Hopkins and 17 other institutions find that a slow-release form of the anti-depression, anti-anxiety medication Paxil reduces hot flashes in menopausal women by up to 65 percent. LUNG SURGERY BENEFITS EMPHYSEMA PATIENTS
A five-year study at Johns Hopkins and 16 other clinical research centers finds patients with severe emphysema who undergo lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) fare better than those receiving medical therapy. BIOMEDICAL RESEARCHERS ELECTED TO AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Three School of Medicine researchers were elected to the prestigious international honorary society: Carol Greider, who studies the role of the telomerase enzyme in cancer cells; Philip Beachy, who studies a key signaling molecule in childhood brain cancer; and Peter Agre, who discovered a class of molecules that regulate water infiltration into the brain, lung and kidneys. RELATED STORY: GREIDER SEES SELECTION AS MESSAGE TO YOUNGER FACULTY
Carol Greider, the only woman among the 17 active Hopkins University faculty in the august National Academy of Sciences, says her election “shows that anything is possible.”
HIP(AA)DEEP IN PRIVACY
University President Bill Brody writes about the dubious benefits of the new federal privacy regulations: They represent a huge unfunded mandate and could expand medical malpractice suits.STAYING FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE
Dean/CEO Ed Miller discusses some ways in which academic medical centers can remain on the cutting edge of research.
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