Dr. Mike Rakotz recognized for Excellence by NorthShore
Our Quality Fellowship Program and its resulting Hypertension Project developed by NorthShore family medicine physician Michael Rakotz, MD, is one example of how our health technology translates into real benefits for our patients. The project is supported by NorthShore’s Practice-Based Improvement Research Network (PBRN).
Dr. Rakotz has long been interested in hypertension, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, and concerned that so many people—an estimated 8 percent of the U.S. adult population—are living with this condition undiagnosed.
With NorthShore’s sophisticated EMR and vast data warehouse in place, Dr. Rakotz carefully studied data for all NorthShore patients between the ages of 18 and 79 to identify those who may be at risk for hypertension.
Nearly 1,600 patients were identified as potentially having increased risk for this life-threatening condition. Their individual physicians were notified, and patients were contacted and asked to come in for an office visit, where a sophisticated blood pressure machine was used to take a highly accurate reading. To date, about 400 individuals have come in for testing. Nearly one third of the patients were identified as meeting the criteria for hypertension and are now receiving treatment for what could have been a silent killer.
Dr. Goutham Rao Awarded by the The NorthShore Glenbrook and Evanston Hospital Auxiliary
The NorthShore Glenbrook and Evanston Hospital Auxiliary supports one research scholar annually, to carry out a well-defined research project lasting up to 3 years. The level of funding is $30,000 per year ($90,000 total). Dr. Rao's project is entitled, “Point-of-care lipid screening among children.” It involves systematically introducing point-of-care Cholestech-LDX machines to 6 practices (3 pediatrics and 3 family medicine), together with training for nursing and physicians. The machines require only a small, fingerstick blood sample, and can provide values of lipids within 5 minutes. This is less painful and inconvenient for children and families. Dr. Rao among others will monitor lipid screening levels for six months after introduction of the machines, compared with the immediately preceding 6-month period.
Dr. Mike Rakotz Presents at the Mayo Clinic's conference: Expanding the Boundaries of Health Care Value: Collaboration and Community Engagement in Practice-Based Research 2011
Dr. Mike Rakotz recently presented at the Mayo Clinic's Center For Translational Science Activites conference.
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Dr. Goutham Rao Authors Recommendations on Addressing Patients About Obesity
Dr. Goutham Rao is the lead author of a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) that offers specific recommendations about how to address obesity with patients in busy out-patient settings, which research shows physicians too often don’t do. The statement is published in the current edition of Circulation, Journal of the American Heart Association.
Obesity is a significant public health issue in the United States but according to research, physicians and other healthcare professionals are poorly equipped to tackle the problem.
“The number one barrier to physicians discussing obesity with their patients, we learned, is they simply don’t know what to say and do,” said Goutham Rao, MD, Vice Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at NorthShore and lead author of the AHA statement, New and Emerging Weight Management Strategies for Busy Ambulatory Settings.
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NorthShore Hosts Family Community Event at Kohl Children's Museum
Nearly 350 kids, moms and dads swarmed Kohl Children’s Museum Tuesday Aug. 2, for the first-ever NorthShore Family Community Event. NorthShore’s Communications and Marketing team “took over” the museum for the evening, opening it to families from across the North Shore who signed up for the free event online. The evening included dinner and a host of kid-friendly activities, including a hands-on tasting seminar of healthy snacks led by NorthShore family practitioners Dr. Michael Rakotz and Dr. Goutham Rao, and Registered Dietitian Kim Hammon.
With NorthShore branding throughout the museum, kids participated in a wide variety of other programs including an arts and crafts room, where youngsters created and designed their own finger casts and bandages, to a high-energy Wiggleworms activity room. Participants could also have their picture taken, dressed up as a NorthShore doctor. As the evening concluded, families visited the Storytime room to wind down and relax with classic children’s stories before heading home.