Wearable Technology Is Helpful, But Not Perfect

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
November 16, 2021

We have all seen this scenario before: A patient comes in and tells you that they've seen a concerning reading on their smartphone or smartwatch regarding so... Continue Reading

Filed under: Miscellaneous

Innovation in a Post-Pandemic World: What We Have Taught Ourselves

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
July 30, 2021

So much has changed since January of this year. By now, most states are working to get back to some sense of normalcy while hospitals and healthcare systems... Continue Reading

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Miscellaneous, Practice Management/Career

Get Your Patients With Heart Failure to Rehab!

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
July 27, 2021

Treatment for heart failure (HF) is established, but always growing. The profiles of patients who get HF vary, but one thing that is consistent is that the d... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic

The PA Profession Wants to Change Its Name

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
July 13, 2021

In May 2021, on a vote of 198 for and 68 against, the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) House of Delegates (HOD) passed a resolution to change... Continue Reading

Filed under: NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career

Kidney Function and Hypertension in Heart Failure: They Go Hand in Hand

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
May 11, 2021

We all have been educated numerous times about the need to control hypertension in all patients with that diagnosis. This is particularly in patients with he... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic

Sacubitril/Valsartan and Heart Failure: Improvement of Health Status

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
May 07, 2021

For the last few years, we have seen a number of continuing education sessions and articles related to advances in the treatment of heart failure (HF). One o... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic

Major Stroke Prevention: A New Use for a Well-Known Medication

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
February 19, 2021

Strokes can have a devastating impact on the long-term survival and function of our patients. Therapies to treat them have been well established, and there h... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic

It’s Time to Talk About Vaccinations

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
February 16, 2021

As we make our way through the immunization phase of the COVID pandemic, I cannot help but think about the many Americans who have not received their vaccine... Continue Reading

Filed under: Preventive Medicine, Public Health

Out of the Woods? Considerations and Follow-up for When COVID Goes Away

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
December 18, 2020

As we approach the 1-year mark of COVID becoming globally prominent, we are, unfortunately, also getting into the next surge of cases. At some point, this de... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic, Infectious Diseases, Public Health

Sports Physicals in a Post-COVID World

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
December 16, 2020

Athletes want to compete and give their best to their sport at every age. COVID has changed this in ways that no one was prepared to imagine. Now that we may... Continue Reading

How COVID-19 is Impacting the PA and NP Professions

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
June 05, 2020

Have you or one of your colleagues had an impactful change to your career or current job because of COVID-19? Apparently, it is happening to more than we kno... Continue Reading

Filed under: Practice Management/Career

Brain Natriuretic Peptide in Clinical Trials: Why This Matters for Practitioners

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
May 26, 2020

As we look to improve the treatment and quality of life of our patients with heart failure, we often use relevant labs to help us determine the extent of the... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic

The Cardiovascular Impact of COVID-19

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
April 03, 2020

On Wednesday, March 18th, the American College of Cardiology held a we... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic, Infectious Diseases

COVID-19 and the Curve

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
March 31, 2020

As of the writing of this post, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been confirm... Continue Reading

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Infectious Diseases, Public Health

New Cholesterol Drug Soon to Make It to the United States

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
January 31, 2020

Normally, when a new drug hits the United States market you will see a small market spike of curiosity. As we continually seek ways to improve the health and... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic, Preventive Medicine

Connecting with our Patients: What Matters Most

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
January 28, 2020

We all have busy clinical days, but it is still important to make a personal connection with our patients. I think it is fair to say that one of the main rea... Continue Reading

Filed under: NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career

The Continued Study of an Old Drug: Aspirin

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
December 13, 2019

It started out by taking extract from the willow tree and using it as a medicinal agent well over 150 years ago. Today, this extract, now transformed into ac... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic, Miscellaneous

Do Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners Know What They Bill?

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
December 10, 2019

As a practicing clinician, do you know what you bill for? Do you know how much is asked for in the bills that are sent to your patients? The truth of the mat... Continue Reading

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career

The Real Risks of Vaping: All Clinicians Must Ask the Right Questions and Warn Patients

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
October 04, 2019

Most of us have seen the recent news regarding the alarming rise of respiratory-related illnesses and deaths due to e-cigarettes, or vaping. For those not aw... Continue Reading

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Substance Abuse

New Statement Related to Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
October 01, 2019

The American College of Cardiology has issued a new Expert Consensus Decision Pathway for the management of patients with heart failure. This newly released... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic, Health Policy and Trends, NPs & PAs

Palliative Care for Heart Failure: An Early Discussion Would Benefit Patients

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
July 19, 2019

As clinicians, we care for patients over the course of a lifetime and often face the reality of patients who are challenged with end-of-life (EOL) decision m... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic

No Difference in Outcomes and Treatment No Matter the Etiology—Analysis from PARADIGM-HF Trial

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
July 16, 2019

Heart failure (HF) is a complicated disease state with multiple, staged therapies. Over the last couple of years, addition of a sacubitril/valsartan combinat... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic

CHAMPS HF - We All Can do Better!

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
June 14, 2019

Many of us manage patients with heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction, or HFrEF. The management of this patient population is complex, and most pati... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic, Preventive Medicine

Consider Deprescribing in Our Older Adults

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
June 01, 2019

We all have patients in our practices who are older and on numerous medications. They are stabilizing their problems but are faced with the reality of nearin... Continue Reading

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Preventive Medicine, Public Health

Measles Outbreak – A Public Health Concern

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
April 26, 2019

The modern world was turned upside down in 1997 when researcher Andrew Wakefield suggested there was a direct correlation between the MMR (measles/mumps/rube... Continue Reading

Filed under: Infectious Diseases, Preventive Medicine, Public Health

Cardiovascular Health Promotion—A Must Read for PAs and NPs

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
April 23, 2019

PAs and NPs are encouraged to read a recent issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on cardiovascular health and promotion. This... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic, Preventive Medicine

Caution: Population Is Having More Heart Attacks at a Younger Age

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
March 15, 2019

This March, the American College of Cardiology will meet in New Orleans for their annual scientific assembly, and one major discussion will be the growing pe... Continue Reading

Filed under: Cardiometabolic

Patient Autonomy: Keeping Our Patients’ Self-Determination Preserved

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
March 12, 2019

If you’ve practiced in medicine for at least 20 years, you may remember the case of Terri Schiavo, a woman in her 20s who was in a coma for more than a dec... Continue Reading

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Public Health

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: What's In It for Your Patient?

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
February 08, 2019

Over the last few years more and more development and technology has been devoted to transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR. This procedure, develop... Continue Reading

States' Involvement With Medicaid Expansion

Posted By: Daniel Thibodeau, MHP, PA-C
February 05, 2019

For a little over 50 years, Medicaid has provided healthcare as a stopgap to millions of people. With passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), few states ut... Continue Reading

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Public Health