Matt Lund (Chief Contracting Officer, UW Medicine) walks us through the models behind how we get paid at UW Medicine. He delineates the CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) methodologies for determining reimbursement amounts for different hospitals, clinics, and providers. Factors considered include the amount of medical education conducted, the amount of uncompensated care provided, complexity of procedures, and locality of the hospital among others. Matt explains the intricacies behind why we don't always get reimbursed at the amount for which we bill, adding examples of how providers can ensure we receive the best reimbursement for any care given. Finally, he considers fee-for-service and value-based care as we continuously move towards our financial and mission-driven goals. 

Music by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) 

Dr. Nancy Connolly (Medicine; Executive Director for Community Health and Well-Being, US Chamber of Connection) provides context around the current widespread issue of loneliness in the US and solutions to both prevent and alleviate it. A strong sense of belonging and social connectedness are the keys to immunization against chronic loneliness. Dr. Connolly walks us through the data-driven six points of connection and encourages us to evaluate our own opportunities for growth in any of these points. Finally, she recommends checking out and joining the US Chamber of Connection for local events, trainings, and ideas to increase our own connections. 

Click here to get involved with the US Chamber of Connection.

Music by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) 

Dr. Stefanie Simmons (Emergency Medicine Physician; CMO, Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation) explains ways we can shift the mindset around licensing and support for mental health care. She commends UW Medicine for receiving the All In Credentialing Champions Challenge Award for removing stigmatizing language and adding support resources in credentialing applications related to mental health and substance use disorders. Dr. Simmons promotes expanding our definition of patient-centeredness to include self care and our holistic identities outside of our jobs. She walks through a color-coded framework for folks worrying about their own mental health or substance use and delineates resources available to anyone seeking support. Finally, she reminds us all that compassion without self-compassion is incomplete.

A few resources mentioned in this episode can be accessed at the links below:

• WA EAP (Employee Assistance Program)
• UW Medicine Peer to Peer Program
• WPHP (Washington Physicians Health Program)
• UW Well-Being and Support Resources

Music by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) 

Dr. Genevieve Pagalilauan (Medicine; Co-Lead for Service Learning; Lead, Interprofessional Service Learning) provides tips for getting involved in advocacy in whichever areas you work. She gives background on finding her current roles, and demonstrates how accessible it can be to engage on a local or national level, including strategies for success when advocating with your legislative representatives. UW rules for engagement and External Affairs are important resources for additional guidance. Whether it's through speaking or writing, Dr. Pagalilauan encourages everyone to explore and join groups and communities to share in advocacy efforts for long-term progress. 

For information about UW's rules for engagement, visit the UW External Affairs website here.

Review the AAMC Academic Medicine Advocacy Guide here for additional resources.

Read the episode transcript here.

Music by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) 

Dr. Kimberly Ma (Obstetrics and Gynecology; Assistant Chief Clinical Information Officer for UW Medicine) shares tips for organizing and customizing your EPIC inbox to save you time. Start by understanding how you use your inbox and your most commonly accessed features, then focus on optimizing those sections. Reduce time in EPIC by setting daily email reminders to notify you of messages. Set up the "results" section to prioritize the most relevant columns for your workflow, and edit out those you don't use. Get to know quick actions for your most frequent tasks without opening the patient chart. Finally, Dr. Ma highly encourages folks to schedule a 1:1 session with Practitioner Liaison Support (PLS) Services to optimize your personal EPIC inbox. 

Contact Practitioner Liaison Support (PLS) Services to schedule a 1:1 session:

WEBSITE: Practitioner Liaison Support (uwmedicine.org)

TEAMS CHANNEL: Practitioner Support & Optimization Forum

REQUEST FORM FOR EPIC OPTIMIZATION SESSIONS: Follow this link

Read the episode transcript here.

Music by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) 

Dr. Neha Deshpande (Medicine, General Internal Medicine) shares best practices for how to effectively teach in small group settings. She recommends setting the session up for success with enthusiasm, shared goals, and planned interactive components. She then provides examples of some of her favorite prompts and intentional strategies for elevating quieter voices, as well as approaches to avoid. Finally, Dr. Deshpande encourages increasing your confidence in small group teaching with continued practice and iteration. 

Read the episode transcript here.

Music by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) 

Drs. Mollie Grow (Pediatrics) and Stefan Wheat (Emergency Medicine) discuss how faculty can get involved in improving climate health. Climate change is the single greatest public health threat of the 21st century and US Healthcare accounts for 8.5% of total US greenhouse gas emissions. The UW School of Medicine offers collaborative opportunities from medical student-led curriculum changes to an annual multi-disciplinary symposium. In every day practice, we can replace single-use PPE with reusable PPE, reduce single-use plastic at events involving food, and reduce use of anesthetic gasses in clinical spaces. Planetary health is human health, and we can all make changes and get involved to reduce our impact.

Below is a list of resources to join in this work.

Links to get involved:
UW Sustainability Action Plan
UW Center for Health and the Global Environment
Funded Climate and Health Research opportunity for WWAMI researchers
Green Seattle
Journal of Graduate Medical Education's Climate Change and GME supplement
Climate Solutions
Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility
Climate Change and Health Bootcamp
Climate Rx

Email Stefan at [email protected] and Mollie at [email protected] for additional opportunities and information.

Read the episode transcript here.

Music by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) 

Dr. Nathan White (Emergency Medicine; Associate Dean for RGE at Harborview Medical Center; Director, Resuscitation Engineering Science Unit) explains how he brought an idea from his clinical practice to market. Dr. White developed Stasys, a medical device that diagnoses platelet health for trauma care. Start with identifying a need or gap in your clinical work. Then seek out experts across the University to find someone doing related work and collaboratively explore solutions. Finally, partner with UW's CoMotion to complete the steps from prototypes to licensing and commercialization. Throughout the process as additional parties become involved, stay committed to the end application you have envisioned for the product. 

Learn about Stasys Medical Corp here.

Read the episode transcript here.

Music by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) 

Fiona Wills (Associate Vice Provost for Innovation Development and Commercialization, UW) explains the resources available to research faculty, postdocs, and graduate students looking to commercialize an innovation through UW's CoMotion. She discusses all of the steps of the commercialization process, from training to startup, including different methods of protecting your intellectual property. Start by understanding your market and the novelty of your innovation by asking your customers what needs they have. Begin conversations with CoMotion early in the process to guide your decision making, utilize their resources from lab space to patent attorneys, and set a reasonable timeline to ensure your idea successfully goes from lab to market. 

Learn about and get connected to UW CoMotion here.

Read the episode transcript here.

Music by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) 

Dr. Sahar Rooholamini (Pediatrics; Assistant Dean for Recruitment and Retention) walks us through the steps for recruiting faculty using equitable, mission-aligned best practices. Dr. Rooholamini shares strategies for active outreach to gather a diverse pool of applicants, delineates key qualities of an exemplary job ad, and explains the role of the search committee in leading and standardizing the review and selection process. She recommends keeping your search criteria expansive to be inclusive of potential applicant qualities that you may not have initially envisioned. Finally, Dr. Rooholamini provides advice on how to balance considerations of internal and external candidates, and encourages faculty to provide input to adapt and improve our recruitment practices at the UW School of Medicine.

Read the episode transcript here.

Music by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/)