A Personal Experience that Reinforced My Commitment to You
by Jana Acciacca
Last week, my niece, a 27-year-old wife and mother of a five-year-old daughter, was rushed to the hospital with a pulmonary embolism. My sister-in-law called me to ask if I knew what that was.
Now, I’m not a doctor, but I occasionally like to play one in my head. Does she smoke? Yes, but she quit a couple of years ago. Does she take birth control pills? Yes, for about 10 years.
“Ah ha!” I say to myself. Not only did I know what PE was, I also knew some of the reasons why this might have happened to an otherwise seemingly healthy young woman. If I were to guess, either one or both of those things probably contributed to her condition.
Given my position as Editor of VEIN, I am fortunate to be on the forefront of breaking industry news, techniques, procedures, events, products, research and processes – each brought to my “desk” via all the pathways to self-education one could ask for - PDAs, iPods, iPads, laptops. It surprises me to say this, but if I had known I was going to review this much medical information, I would have considered attending medical school!
But in all fairness, I made the right decision for my chosen career. Working on VEIN Magazine provides me with the creative pathways my right brain craves, and being fortunate to collaborate with so many industry leaders provides the “ongoing education” necessary to satiate my analytical side.
Which brings me back to my original point, which is that education is an ongoing process. I feel fortunate to be in the industry I am in, and was able to explain the causes and effects of PE to my niece because of the incredible resources I have at my fingertips. But while I believe that it is our collective responsibility
to educate the general population on venous disease, my mission is more focused.
The most important job of an Editor is deciding what information VEIN is bringing YOU. Our mission is to deliver the right kind of information to help you make better decisions for your practice – whether it is a new procedure, navigating EMR, information on educational opportunities or best practices. I am dedicated to
this mission, not simply for the purpose of bringing you the latest techniques on embolization or spotting thrombophilia early, but because you might just be the one who saved my niece.
In this issue, our cover Story “How Does Industry Value New Medical Technologies” does an excellent job of helping us to understand the processes and determination behind the launch of a new product or device within the medical industry, and why we pay what we do for these advancements. Gaining better
knowledge about the process might just help you make better business decisions for your practice in the future.
I’ve been studying up on EMRs and stimulus time tables. If you have too, then I’m sure you hear the clock in your office grow louder, as the window for acquiring an EMR system in time to prove meaningful use begins to close. VEIN is committed to bringing you content that will help you create a working timeline for implementation of these new technologies, as well as helpful advice from those who work in the technology industry who have first-hand experience with the processes. In this issue, we look at the steps to collecting that $18,000 of stimulus money promised to you after the required “reporting period” has ended.
Perhaps you are considering the addition of treatments, or want to broaden your marketing initiatives to bring in more patients. In this issue, Part II of “Advice for Practical Practitioners Who Want to Make the Most of Their Marketing Dollars and Sense” takes a look at measuring and analyzing your internet marketing efforts to convert your web traffic into patients. and in “How Are Your Referral Relationships”, we review an often overlooked channel for increasing your business, and one that costs little more than commitment to a plan on the part of you and your staff.
But what if adding onto your practice means adding clinical research to your daily routine? Featured Doctor, Kathleen Gibson, MD, provides us with her perspectives on performing clinical research in a private practice setting, the various avenues for conducting research, and how to get started.
As always, our News and New Products sections include the latest offerings and information from across the industry, our Calendar of Events keeps you informed of what is happening and where, we review the AVF annual Meeting and SIR annual Meeting in our Medical Diary, and highlight the upcoming SVS annual Meeting in our Event Preview section.
And finally, a topic with a sense of urgency we should all be aware of: Education. along with insights into the ACP’s new CME accreditation and the new RPhS credentialing, we review the process for the aVF Fellows course in Venous Disease.
Thank you, as always, for your support of VEIN Magazine. Happy reading! and please, let me know what you think at Editor@VeinDirectory.org!
Jana Acciacca
Editor-in-chief
Jana@HealthNews.org