Mark your calendar: Grand rounds

Orthopaedic Surgery Grand Rounds
"From Surviving to Thriving"
Binata Mukherjee, M.D., director of healthcare leadership initiatives, USA College of Medicine
7 a.m. Friday, June 11
Strada Patient Care Center
Contact: Rhonda Smith at 251-665-8251 or rhondasmith@health.southalabama.edu

OB-GYN Grand Rounds
"Outpatient Coding and Documentation for the OB/GYN"
Amy Robinson, RN, CPC, manager of billing compliance, University Hospital
7:30 a.m. Friday, June 11
The Atlantis Room and via Zoom
Zoom registration: https://southalabama.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUuf-Gsrz0oH9PNDQgKTE4Fh6h_j4keBDJL
Contact: Heather Glass at 251-415-1492 or hglass@health.southalabama.edu

Cardiology Grand Rounds
"General Cardiology Jeopardy"
Bassam Omar, M.D., professor of internal medicine/cardiology, USA College of Medicine
11:30 a.m. Friday, June 11
Zoom registration: https://usahealthsystem.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJApceGsrzMsHt2gFsBT02ShnccVZpx-dS3-
Contact: Donna Gregory at 332-3885 or dgregory@health.southalabama.edu

Pediatric Grand Rounds
"Eating Disorders, Another Perspective"
Daniel Preud'Homme, M.D., professor of pediatrics, USA College of Medicine
8 to 9 a.m. Friday, June 18
Zoom registration: https://southalabama.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcsceysqTgvHdUsqdLE4FWzv3rEePWHir1h
Contact: Jessica Petro at 251-415-8688 or jpetro@health.southalabama.edu

Mental Health Grand Rounds
"Eating Disorders"
Allison Weiser, Psy.D., The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness
8 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 23
Zoom registration: https://southalabama.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcsf-isqjMiHtyYx3UlyuC-50kwlSE7ai2f
Contact: Sharrie Cranford at 251-414-8080 or scranford@southalabama.edu

See the full schedule of grand rounds on CME tracker. 

Class of 2023 to receive white coats

The USA College of Medicine will host its annual White Coat Ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, June 25, at the USA Mitchell Center.

During the ceremony, rising third-year medical students in the Class of 2023 will don their white coats, the traditional dress of physicians for more than 100 years. Last year, the event was held by Zoom because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lynn Batten, M.D., director of the division of pediatric cardiology and a professor of pediatrics at the USA College of Medicine, will deliver the keynote address.

During the ceremony, select students from the Class of 2022, along with residents and faculty members, will be inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Inductees are chosen by current third-year medical students for practicing patient-centered medical care with altruism, integrity and compassion.

Each year, the USA Medical Alumni Association sponsors the event.

New artificial intelligence prediction model may reduce hospital readmission rates

Amod Amritphale, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine, uses computer algorithms to learn more about patients who have had a stroke. 

Artificial intelligence may be a useful tool for providers to better predict patient outcomes. It was beneficial for Amod Amritphale, M.D., the director of cardiovascular research and an interventional cardiologist at USA Health, who used computer algorithms to learn more about patients who suffered a stroke. Public data showed that some of those patients were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, even after undergoing a surgical procedure to open a narrowed carotid artery.

Carotid arteries are blood vessels located on both sides of the neck that deliver blood to the head and brain. The procedure, known as carotid artery stenting (CAS), is usually performed as a preventative method or after a stroke.

Amritphale, who is an assistant professor of internal medicine, launched a study to describe the rates and causes of unplanned readmission following CAS using a national healthcare database. His findings were published in the April 2021 edition of Advances in Therapy.

“The last thing any doctor wants to see is a patient back in the hospital, especially during a short period of time, with adverse or negative outcomes,” Amritphale said. “I wanted to understand more about the outcomes of patients who underwent CAS or cardiovascular procedures and harness the power of artificial intelligence to develop a strong prediction model.”

Amritphale explains that if 100 patients underwent CAS and 10 people came back to the hospital within a short period following their discharge, he would compare those 10 patients with the remaining 90 people who were not readmitted. “I would take that data and say ‘What made these 10 people come back to the hospital?’ So, the next time I see someone like them, I can tell that patient they are at risk for readmission and discuss ways to prevent it,” he said.

The artificial intelligence tool also will help patients.

“If patients know beforehand that they are at high risk to come back to the hospital, they will pay closer attention to their bodies,” Amritphale said. “They will focus more on diet and exercise or if they are experiencing symptoms, they will know to call their doctor or go the emergency room sooner.”

The novel model presented in this study boasts 79 percent capability to accurately predict at-risk patients.

Amritphale hopes physicians use artificial intelligence tools to help diagnose patients, which could make a difference in healthcare. “Money being spent on healthcare could have been saved and used towards prevention of cardiovascular diseases if we use this method,” he said. “This will better help providers as we strive to create the best outcomes for our patients.”

Collaborators on the study include researchers from USA Health, the National Institutes of Health, The George Washington University and the University of California, Los Angeles. Advances in Therapy is an international journal that covers the use of therapies, devices and surgical techniques across all therapy areas.

USA College of Medicine recognizes Pride Month

June is Pride Month and we are so PROUD to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community here at USA and around the world as the community lives out loud, lives their truth, and reminds us of how far we still have to go toward true equality and equity. 

Did you know? Pride Month often is celebrated in June to honor and commemorate the Stonewall Uprising in New York City on June 28, 1969. Following a police invasion of a gay club located in Greenwich Village, riots and protests ensued throughout the city.

The Stonewall Riots sparked a shift and increase in LGBTQ activism. However, more work for the LGBTQ+ community still is needed. So far this year, 13 transgender men and women have been killed, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Twelve of the 13 killed were either Black, Latinx or Asian.

In celebration of Pride Month, we encourage each of you to expand your understanding of the plights of our LGBTQ+ comrades and commit to doing one thing toward the work that still needs to be done:

• Volunteer and support LGBTQ+ causes (either nationally or locally)
• Don a little Pride swag to show support and solidarity 
• Take a minute to learn about a LGBTQ+ activist you may be unfamiliar with (Marsha P. Johnson or Sylvia Rivera are two trailblazers worth learning more about!)

Cheers to living vibrantly and unapologetically all year round. 

In solidarity,

USA COM Office of Diversity and Inclusion

Faculty Spotlight: Anne-Marie Kaulfers, M.D.

Anne-Marie Kaulfers, M.D.

Academic title: Associate professor of pediatric endocrinology 

Joined the USA College of Medicine faculty: October 2009

What does your position in the USA COM/USA Health entail?
I see patients in the clinic and hospital, but I also teach the residents, am a faculty mentor to the pediatric residents, advise pediatric residents on their research projects, teach the third-year medical students/clerkship co-director for the pediatrics rotation, clerkship director for two fourth-year med student elective rotations, and teach lectures and team-based learning (TBL) to the second-year medical students during their endocrine block.

What is your favorite or most rewarding part of your position?
Being the medical director for diabetes camp each summer. Seeing the struggles of having diabetes first-hand really opens my eyes and helps me be a better doctor, and a better advocate for my patients. I also really like teaching medical students to give insulin injections and showing them all the latest diabetes technology such as pumps and sensors.

The way diabetes care is managed is changing every single year, becoming more automated and accurate. Getting to be a part of the path to an automated delivery closed-loop insulin system is very rewarding. I also love getting to introduce my patients to the latest diabetes gadgets that will improve their quality of life.

What research initiatives are you involved in?
I just published my first senior author manuscript in the journal Clinical Diabetes and Endocrinology. I looked at how the COVID-19 quarantine changed how diabetes care is managed in children. I found that the average blood sugar control worsened while kids were at home and out of school, with Medicaid patients more affected than those on private insurance.

What is your advice for medical students?
Choose a medical field that you really love, where you think you can make the biggest difference in your patients' lives. Then the rest will fall into place.

What are your hobbies/interests outside of work? 
I love to read. I’m a proud member of the Book of the Month club. I have a 13-year-old son, who just got his first COVID vaccine. I also love to cook, and I hardly ever make the same thing twice. I’m always trying out new recipes. I love new kitchen gadgets. My most recent addition is the Ninja Foodi indoor grill with air fryer.

Meet a Med Student: Veena Krishnan

Veena Krishnan

Age: 23

Class of: 2023

Hometown: Birmingham, Ala.

Undergrad/grad institution: Birmingham Southern College

Degrees earned: Bachelor of Science in chemistry

Interests, hobbies: Reading, beadwork, watching soccer.

Something unique about me: I am named after an Indian instrument, the veena.

Three of my favorite things: German Shepherds, ice cream, FC Barcelona