HEALTH EQUITY
disparities requires a multi-faceted approach . Bluegrass Biodesign , a student-led organization at the University of Louisville , is deeply dedicated to mitigating health care inequities and their profound impacts . It is one of the first student-operated programs in the nation that combines the expertise of medical , engineering and business students to identify urgent health care issues , prototype solutions , perform market analysis on these solutions ’ viability and finally bring the product to market . Business analysis requires drafting a solution that is cost effective for the health entity and considers patient equity as its core component . This enables an effective solution to be implemented across all patient populations , particularly the lower income class patients .
Multiple current and former projects focus on addressing some critical health care problems while creating sustainable and affordable products . One of these is a cost-effective solution to treat walled-off abscesses . Instead of a prolonged hospital stay with multiple abscess and wound cultures requiring continually changing antibiotic therapy based on sensitivities , treatment can now potentially be guided by an IR-guided , one-time procedure . Another focuses on prevention of catheter associated urinary tract infections ( CAUTIs ), a problem that costs upwards of $ 22,000 per incident . It implements a specially designed catheter that enables periodic irrigation with normal saline , preventing stasis in the bladder and the distal urinary tract . Finally , another innovation tackles malfunctioning ventriculoperitoneal shunts . Replacement of a failed shunt costs around $ 50,000 and costs health care $ 1.4 to
2.0 billion annually . The team is working on developing a solution that does not require operative identification and resolution , thus resulting in mitigation of both the extent of intervention and its potential complications . All these solutions , while improving health care delivery , focus on health equity as their fundamental goal .
Bluegrass Biodesign , albeit based in Louisville , represents a major advancement towards addressing health care problems and inequities globally . It amalgamates the expertise of a multidisciplinary team of medical , business and engineering students along with their respective advisors to forge a more equitable and efficient health care future .
Reference :
https :// aarp-states . brightspotcdn . com / 04 / 3d / 96dc55264d7f91815f3c96d5cbb7 / aarp-ky-louisville-health-equity-report-with-crops . pdf
Muhammad Mustafa is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Louisville School of Medicine planning to attend residency in general surgery .
Khoi Do is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Louisville School of Medicine planning to attend residency in ophthalmology .
Nita Nair is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Louisville School of Medicine planning to attend residency in diagnostic radiology .
Mohammad Haq is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Louisville School of Medicine planning to attend residency in ophthalmology .
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