Transatlantic Travelogue for TheTravelEditor.com

As a new project over the next few weeks, my sister Katherine Hinkel (geologist/anthropologist), our friend Kirsten Teasdale (historian), and I will be embarking on an 11-day transatlantic cruise and covering our adventure for the travel site TheTravelEditor.com. We'll make stops in the Shetland Islands, Reykjavik (Iceland), and Halifax and St. John's (Canada).

Itinerary:

Sep 17 – Start of cruise: Depart Dover, England
Sep 18 -- Cruise the North Sea
Sep 19 – Dock at Lerwick, Shetland Islands
Sep 20 -- Cruise the Atlantic
Sep 21 – Dock at Reykjavik, Iceland
Sep 22 -- Cruise the Atlantic
Sep 23 -- Cruise the Atlantic
Sep 24 – Dock at St John's, Newfoundland
Sep 25 -- Cruise the Atlantic
Sep 26 – Dock at Halifax, Nova Scotia
Sep 27 -- Cruise the Atlantic
Sep 28 – Dock at New York, New York. Cruise finishes.

Help A Reporter Out

Are you signed up for HARO, or Help a Reporter Out? This fantastic, FREE service connects jouranlists with sources. I signed up several weeks ago and already am a big fan of HARO and its creator, Peter Shankman. Someone should give this guy an award.

New Publication on Patient Safety

In the July 2008 issue of the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network:

"Report on the NCCN Third Annual Patient Safety Summit" by Jennifer M. Hinkel, MSc

"The issues of patient safety and preventing medical errors routinely make headlines, with reports of thousands of preventable deaths and costs in the billions of dollars per year. Far less noticeable but potentially more important is the ongoing work to develop new systems and processes of safety and to leverage technology to reduce preventable adverse events. The NCCN Third Annual Patient Safety Summit examined processes central to maintaining patient safety in the oncology setting: medication reconciliation, communication during patient hand-offs, and reporting of events, including “near-miss” events that do not reach a patient or result in harm. At the NCCN Patient Safety Summit, diverse speakers shared clinical and practical experiences in implementing safety improvements with a multidisciplinary audience. As this overview article presents, common themes included transitions from paper to electronic systems, education and training as new methods are started, and the need for all members of the multidisciplinary care team to recognize their impact on patient safety. CE/CME credit is available for this article."

Gadgets

I just purchased an air mouse with 1 gig of USB storage from Gyration... should be useful in the classroom and for delivering presentations on the road. It's much smaller than I realized it would be, and if I can master the slightly awkward motion, it should become a good replacement for a regular mouse while traveling.

All News is Local* (*and all local news is national)

The old adage about local news is no longer true, thanks to the Internet!

As an example, I spoke with local NBC reporter Justin Pizzi about five months ago about women enjoying craft beers and microbrews. (I was invited along to a dinner-and-craft-brew-tasting meeting of In Pursuit of Ale, an all-women's beer club in Philadelphia, by a former classmate.) After spending time in Belgium, Ireland, and the UK, I think my taste in beer lands at the more sophisticated end, and I was happy to offer a few thoughts for Justin's story. Although I'm not an "official" club member, IPA is a great group of women, and they are certainly doing their part to educate people about local Philadelphia beers and other craft brews.

The story ran on NBC at the end of February and remains on their website, but now that news spreads so quickly, it didn't end there. Where else did this story end up? On a blog called the Beer Drinking Club, another one called Brew Dad that is part of Skinny Moose media network, and strangely enough, on the local news in South Carolina, where WIS10 of Columbia ran the story early in March.

So, the next time you talk about your drinking preferences on camera, just keep in mind that people in South Carolina (or anywhere else) might (eventually) be listening in!

Jennifer Hinkel: Virtual CV

Health Care Management, Strategy, and Policy

I am a Project Manager at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). In that role, I manage the Best Practices program area, which involves collaboration with cancer center administrators from our 21 member institutions to develop tools and studies for benchmarking operational metrics. One of the most exciting projects I have worked on since joining NCCN in 2006 has been the development the NCCN Chemotherapy Order Templates TM. I also work on NCCN's collaborative projects with information technology companies. My particular interests include clinical trials operations, implementing process improvement tools (Lean and Six Sigma) in cancer care settings, and quality and patient safety in oncology.

Prior to joining NCCN, I was a Policy Analyst at ASTHO, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. At ASTHO, I worked on public health policy projects related to childhood and adult immunization, infectious diseases, influenza, and avian influenza prevention and preparation strategies.

While I lived in London, I worked in the office of Lord Tim Clement-Jones, who was the Lib Dem's health spokesperson in the House of Lords at that time. My responsibilities included drafting talking points for speeches and questions, composing research briefs, drafting amendments, analyzing legislation, and attending policy meetings and conferences with other Peers and stakeholders.

Apart from my regular employment, I also consult with medical practices in the areas of ancillary services and occupational therapy.

Teaching and Researching in Health Care Administration and Policy

Apart from my full-time work in the oncology world, I teach at several universities in the Philadelphia area, including Penn State University (Abington campus), Arcadia University, and Strayer University. Since 2007, I have taught undergrads in Penn State's Health Policy and Administration program. (Learn more about my Penn State HPA course.) In the summer of 2008, I co-taught a graduate course in Health Economics, one of my favorite subjects, at Strayer University. (Learn about my Health Economics course.) Most recently, I am co-teaching graduate students in Arcadia's M.S. Public Health and Physician Assistant program as part of an intensive Health Systems course that combines traditional learning with hands-on case studies for a small class size. (Learn about my Health Systems course.)

I learned many of my teaching and presenting skills from teaching and tutoring for the SAT and GMAT at Kaplan Test Prep. I recommend Kaplan as an employer for many of my undergraduate students, not only as an opportunity to develop teaching and mentoring abilities, but also as a way to keep algebra and geometry skills sharp!

Writing and Speaking About Health Care

Starting in the summer of 2008, I signed on with b5media as a contributor to their Health Care Insiders blog. As part of that blog, I write three to five times a week about the health care news, health policy, and the business side of health care, focusing on payor/provider issues.

Some of my other health care publications are below:

• Hinkel JM. “Addressing issues in patient safety.” Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. 2007 Apr; 5(4):360-2.
• Hinkel JM. Letter to the Editor. The New York Times. 2007. March 24: A12.
• Hinkel JM. “How Oklahoma is Beating Hepatitis A.” ASTHO Report. 2005. Fall 13(3): 5.
• Hinkel JM. Comment on “A Proposal for Universal Coverage.” New England J Medicine. 2005 July 7; 353(1):96-7.
• Hinkel JM. “States Exercise Preparedness Models During Flu Vaccine Shortage.” ASTHO Report. 2005. Summer 13(2): 7. (electronic reprint)
  

Educational Background

I hold a MSc in International Health Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). My qualifications at the LSE included a Distinction in Pharmaceutical Policy and Economics and Merits in Health Economics, Health Systems, Foundations of Health Policy & Planning, and a great course I took at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine called "Science, Policy, and Politics." My thesis examined the legislative politics of the UK Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act, focusing on theories of veto players and veto points in the formation of UK health policy in the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Also at LSE, I served on a chairing committee for the LSE Health Society, which arranged guest lectures and field trips, such as one we took to the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

My undergraduate qualifications are from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, GA. I have a BS in International Affairs with a certificate in European Affairs, and I studied Biomedical Engineering as a concentration outside of my major. Some highlights from my experience at Georgia Tech were studying abroad in Brussels, spending time in the student publications office as an editor and columnist for the Technique, representing biomedical engineering students to the Student Government Association, and playing trombone in the Yellow Jacket Marching Band.

Professional Affiliations

Association of Cancer Executives (ACE)
American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE)
Institute of Industrial Engineers Society for Health Systems
HL7 (Health Level 7)
Association of Health Care Journalists

Languages

English: mother tongue
Spanish: near fluency in reading and writing, advanced level speaking
French: intermediate level in reading, beginner level in writing and speaking
German: beginner level, reading, writing, and speaking

Entrepreneurship

In 2007, I started Cheer Up, Blue Square!, a boutique ski and snowboard apparel company that designs and markets vintage inspired t-shirt and thermal wear for skiers, boarders, and snow lovers.

Arcadia University: Health Systems

For the first time this summer (2008), I am co-teaching Health Systems at Arcadia University to a small group of graduate students in the MS Public Health and Physician Assistant programs. The course is running on an intensive, 5-week schedule that meets for 3.5 hours twice weekly during Summer Session II.

What is most innovative about this course is how it is divided between two teachers and two modes of learning. During the first session each week, I lead a lecture/discussion/activity that describes the theoretical underpinnings of the week's topic, then examines current events or situations related to the topic, often in a debate or pro/con format that encourages discussion and the development of critical thinking skills. During the second session each week, the second professor facilitates group case study presentations. (The class has been divided into two groups, and each week, the two groups present various case studies to each other. These case studies tie in with the lecture topics for the week.)

I am a big fan of hands-on learning and incorporating real-world skills (team coordination, presenting, and teaching one another) into the classroom.

The following is what we will cover in this course:

Week 1

Framing the U.S. Health Care System
Shift from infectious disease to chronic disease
Rise of hospitals and shift from inpatient to outpatient care
Current spending and costs

Analyzing Health Care Systems from an Economics Perspective
Tools economists use
Making models and assumptions
Thinking about incentives, or asking “who benefits?”
Following the money
Market Failures for Health Care and Private Health Insurance: Why the System is Flawed

Activity: Doing a “SWOT” Analysis of the U. S. Health Care System

Managed Care Organizations and Employer-Based Insurance in the U.S.
How we ended up with managed care
HMOs, PPOs, POS plans, and others
Pros and Cons of the Employer-Based Insurance Model

Medicare, Medicaid, and other public payors
Origins of Medicare and Medicaid
Rationale for public provision of coverage
The VA and SCHIP (briefly)

Activity: Pros and Cons of a Single-Payer System in the U. S.

Week 2

Funding Options for Health Care Systems
Funding through taxes (general, earmarked, progressive, regressive, and “sin” taxes)
Funding through employer and employee contributions

Cost Sharing and User Charges, the Rand Health Insurance Experiment
Using User Charges (co-payments, co-insurance, deductibles) to fund the system
Theory behind user charges
Arguments for and against
Data about user charges
Issues with user charges

Activity: Containing and Controlling Costs in Health Care – Examples from Massachusetts Proposals for Health Care Reform

Week 3

Delivery of Health Care Part I: Balancing Cost with Access and Quality

Quality Measurement and Improvement
What is Quality?
The Donabedian Model: Structure, Process, Outcome
Safety as part of the quality equation
Access as a component of quality
Does quality cost more, or is it cost-saving?
Pay for Performance and other quality initiatives

Access to Health Insurance vs. Access to Health Care
Health Insurance does not equal health care
The underinsured and access to care
Barriers to access for both health insurance and health care
Access to care as a determinant of health

Health Care Workforce and Workforce Shortages
Workforce as part of structural quality
Economic paradigms of workforce – training workforce as an investment
Causes and effects of workforce shortages
Projections for workforce shortages in the future

Activity: Medical Errors and Safety in Health Care

Week 4

Delivery of Health Care Part II: Four Current Challenges in the U.S. System

Long Term Care and Care for Elders
Models in the U.S. and abroad
Long Term Care insurance

Services for Mental Health
Shift from Institutionalization to Community
Reimbursement Paradigms and Disparities in Mental Health
Direct and Indirect Cost Evaluation

Preventing and Treating Chronic Diseases
Most prevalent chronic diseases in the U.S.
Disease and cost burden of chronic illness
Cost effectiveness of prevention vs. treatment

Academic Medicine and Clinical Research
Challenges for research funding
Academic medicine and workforce training
Clinical trials and minority accruals

Activity: Cancer Care: Costs and Reimbursement

Week 5

Hot Topics in Health Care Systems and System Reform

Pharmaceutical Industry Trends
Parallel Trade, Compulsory Licensing, and Re-importation
Intellectual Property, Brands, Generics, and “Me-too” drugs
Conflict-of-Interest and Disclosures in Research Funding

Activities:
Merck’s Vioxx crisis
Manufacturing the flu vaccine in 2004-2008

Health Literacy and Access to the System
Health literacy as a determinant of access and determinant of health
Language barriers in the delivery of health care
Health care literacy and health system literacy

Information Technology and Health Care in the U.S.
How is IT changing health care in terms of quality and cost?
What benefits and what drawbacks are there in terms of health care IT?
Why has health care been slow to adopt information technology?