by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Sep 19, 2019 | Healthcare Payment Policy
I have been using DNA assay of wounds for a decade, but am still trying to figure out how best to employ this technology. Here’s an example of why it is needed at times: This is a frail lady who is devoted to her dogs. Her wound had been making progress at a glacial...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Sep 18, 2019 | Uncategorized
An increasing percentage of my wound center patients have Medicare Advantage plans offered by private payers. As I’ve discussed on previous blogs, it’s getting very hard to use cellular and/or tissue-based products (CTPs) on chronic wound patients with Medicare...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Sep 13, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight
Welcome to Pizza University for wound care! Check out the video below, and find out why we need to get rid of the cheese and hold the pesto:
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Sep 9, 2019 | Uncategorized
Pyoderma Gangrenosum (PG) is one of the most painful wounds we see each year. It is called a “rare” disorder with an estimated incidence of 3 to 10 cases per million people per year.(1) That would mean there are about 20 new cases of PG in Houston, Texas each year....
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Sep 6, 2019 | Miscellaneous Musings
Here’s my amazing staff and the CHI St. Luke’s Quarterly Mission and Annual Inspire Award event, honoring nominees and winners for The Woodlands’ Campus. Our Wound Clinic team at CHI SLEH The Woodlands was nominated for “Team of the Year,” and our Program...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 30, 2019 | Healthcare Payment Policy
If you are like me, the fun part about the Labor Day holiday is that there’s no traffic on Monday when you drive to work… Here’s an interesting bit of fodder for your drive to work on the Labor Day holiday. I follow the blog of Knicole Emanuel, an attorney in...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 28, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy
I am just going to say it. The majority of prospective trials in wound healing have enrolled subjects whose wounds were more likely to heal than not. While more “generalizable” trials (meaning, actually relevant to real patients) are underway or in the planning...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 26, 2019 | Miscellaneous Musings
Here’s a photo of a gorgeous Texas quilt, hand crafted by an octogenarian wound center patient (she’s getting her dressing changed).
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 22, 2019 | Miscellaneous Musings
This cane makes me think of the Johnny Cash song, “I’ve been everywhere.”
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 21, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, US Wound Registry
The story of my son’s intraoperative pressure injuries In August of 2017, Hurricane Harvey dumped 52 inches of rain on Houston turning the 4th largest city in America into a literal island. However, with our house above water, I was selfishly focused on...
