D epartment of M edicine
Con ne c ti ng T e c h n o lo g y , Ed uca t i o n a n d D i s cove ry w ith H um anis m in Me dicine
Vol. 14 Issue 1 Jan 2025
CORNET: Collaborative Research Network The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is pleased to announce new CORNET (Collaborative Research Network) Award recipients whose innovative, cross-disciplinary projects exemplify the institution’s commitment to advancing health outcomes through collaborative research. Dr. Rajiv Dhand, professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at the UTHSC College of Medicine – Knoxville campus and UT Graduate School of Medicine (UTGSM), is partnering with Dr. Qiang He, professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UT Knoxville. Their research will examine the association between the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and the complex microbiome linked to environmental contamination of endotracheal tubes. This collaboration aims to deepen our understanding of critical care infections and inform new strategies to reduce VAP in hospitalized patients. Another CORNET-funded project brings together investigators from UTHSC campuses in Memphis and Knoxville to study the intersection of oral and systemic health. Dr. Anastasios Karydis and Dr. Douglas Dixon, associate professors in the Department of Periodontology at the UTHSC College of Dentistry, are collaborating with Dr. Paul Terry, professor in the Department of Medicine at UTHSC College of Medicine – Knoxville, and Dr. Syed Hasan Raza, associate professor
in the Division of Rheumatology at UTHSC College of Medicine – Memphis. Their study explores the impact of periodontal therapy on rheumatoid arthritis outcomes, aiming to enhance quality of life for patients with these coexisting chronic conditions. In addition to these research advancements, faculty and clinical teams at the UT Graduate School of Medicine have achieved significant milestones in cardiovascular care. Dr. Raj Baljepally and the cardiac catheterization laboratory team at The University of Tennessee Medical Center successfully performed East Tennessee’s first coronary Drug-Coated Balloon (DCB) procedure using the AGENT™ DCB. This achievement marks a critical step forward in interventional cardiology. The team also performed the region’s first renal denervation procedures for the treatment of resistant hypertension—expanding access to innovative therapies for complex cardiovascular conditions. These accomplishments reflect UTHSC’s and UTGSM’s shared mission to improve health through excellence in education, research, clinical care, and public service—locally and across the state of Tennessee.
Points of View
they start speaking. A typical outpatient doctor visit involves taking a history, doing a physical examination, reviewing the results of investigations, discussing further investigation and treatment plans, refilling medications, and scheduling follow-up visits. That’s a lot to go over in a short time. This leads to time pressure on physicians to complete the outpatient visit within the allotted 15-minute slot for most visits. How did visits get so truncated? No one knows when 15 minutes for a doctor’s visit became the norm. Still, many believe that Medicare’s 1992 adoption of “relative value units,” or RVUs, to calculate doctors’ fees is responsible for this change. Before that, physicians’ fees were based on so-called usual and customary fees. RVUs consider the physician’s effort and cost of running a practice and are not based on how much time they spend with their patients. To remain financially viable, physicians attempt to see as many patients as possible, leading to back-to-back 15-minute appointments throughout the day.
They don’t listen! It is a common refrain one hears from patients and their families about physicians. They complain that their physicians are always in a rush and are busy with their laptops, often do not make eye contact while talking, and many don’t take the time to explain the nature of their problems and the reasoning behind their approach to investigation and treatment. Rajiv Dhand, MD, Chair This perception becomes more prevalent when patients are not getting better, and the clinician recommends changes without fully considering the patient’s concerns. One wonders if this perception of physician interactions with patients is accurate. Indeed, some data show that, on average, physicians interrupt their patients between 12 and 15 seconds after
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