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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Doctor, Did You Check Your Checklist? from Kaiser Health News
When Frances Barnes had a stroke in August 2008, she was taken by ambulance to Howard University Hospital. The 80-year-old grandmother was there for about two weeks when she began complaining about pain in her legs. Her daughter Althea Hart pulled back her mother’s blankets and noticed a strange odor.
Hart thought the smell was coming from the compression stockings wrapped around Barnes’s legs to help with circulation, so she took them off. She found that her mother’s left foot had turned black.
Hospital staff had failed to follow physician orders, which required taking off the compression stockings after each shift for at least 30 minutes, according to a DC Department of Health investigation.
"We called a nurse right away, and they tried to heal her infection," says Patricia Moss, another of Barnes's daughters. "But they couldn't."
For the full article please go here.
Hart thought the smell was coming from the compression stockings wrapped around Barnes’s legs to help with circulation, so she took them off. She found that her mother’s left foot had turned black.
Hospital staff had failed to follow physician orders, which required taking off the compression stockings after each shift for at least 30 minutes, according to a DC Department of Health investigation.
"We called a nurse right away, and they tried to heal her infection," says Patricia Moss, another of Barnes's daughters. "But they couldn't."
For the full article please go here.
Protecting Yourself from Hospital Complications from Bettermedicine.com
Protecting Yourself from Hospital Complications
People are born, mended, and consoled in hospitals, hopefully without incident and undue harm. Doing no harm is the ethical guiding principle of doctors, nurses and hospitals. It is what we, as patients and consumers of healthcare, hope for the moment we walk through the hospital door.
But not all hospitals are created equal and on occasion complications arise – in both good and inadequate medical facilities.
What Is a Hospital Complication?
A hospital complication is any condition that arises while you are in the hospital that is unlikely to be related to your condition when you were first admitted. Complications often prolong your stay or cause you to be readmitted to the hospital. One measure used as a marker to evaluate hospital effectiveness is to compare complication rates among hospitals side by side. In this way, you can determine if one hospital has more or less complications than another hospital for a specific procedure or surgery.
For the full article please go here.
People are born, mended, and consoled in hospitals, hopefully without incident and undue harm. Doing no harm is the ethical guiding principle of doctors, nurses and hospitals. It is what we, as patients and consumers of healthcare, hope for the moment we walk through the hospital door.
But not all hospitals are created equal and on occasion complications arise – in both good and inadequate medical facilities.
What Is a Hospital Complication?
A hospital complication is any condition that arises while you are in the hospital that is unlikely to be related to your condition when you were first admitted. Complications often prolong your stay or cause you to be readmitted to the hospital. One measure used as a marker to evaluate hospital effectiveness is to compare complication rates among hospitals side by side. In this way, you can determine if one hospital has more or less complications than another hospital for a specific procedure or surgery.
For the full article please go here.
Electronic Medical Records Still Need Work, Report Says from Huffington Post
WASHINGTON — America may be a technology-driven nation, but the health care system's conversion from paper to computerized records needs lots of work to get the bugs out, according to experts who spent months studying the issue.
Hospitals and doctors' offices increasingly are going digital, the Bipartisan Policy Center says in a report being released Friday. But there's been little progress getting the computer systems to talk to one another, exchanging data the way financial companies do.
"The level of health information exchange in the U.S. is extremely low," the report says.
At the consumer level, few people maintain a personal health record on their laptop or electronic tablet, partly due to concerns about privacy, security and accuracy that the government hasn't resolved.
"How will sensitive health data be kept confidential and secure in digital data-sharing environments?" the report asks. "Many consumers ... are waiting for a reassuring answer to this question."
For the full article please go here.
Hospitals and doctors' offices increasingly are going digital, the Bipartisan Policy Center says in a report being released Friday. But there's been little progress getting the computer systems to talk to one another, exchanging data the way financial companies do.
"The level of health information exchange in the U.S. is extremely low," the report says.
At the consumer level, few people maintain a personal health record on their laptop or electronic tablet, partly due to concerns about privacy, security and accuracy that the government hasn't resolved.
"How will sensitive health data be kept confidential and secure in digital data-sharing environments?" the report asks. "Many consumers ... are waiting for a reassuring answer to this question."
For the full article please go here.
Friday, January 27, 2012
5 Common Marketing Blunders that Health Care Providers Make from Nurse Together
Most health care providers who have a clinical practice, or any type of business where they rely on clients, will need to market in order to sustain and grow that practice and business. While knowing how to market is essential, it's also just as valuable to know what you should not be doing when you are marketing. Today let's focus on the five of the most common marketing blunders I see health care providers make.
For the full article please go here.
For the full article please go here.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Data: Medicaid Eligibility Remained Stable in 2011 from H and HN
The number of Americans eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program remained relatively stable in 2011, a new report from the Kaiser Commission on the Uninsured finds. The report found that 11 states expanded eligibility for Medicaid or CHIP in 2011, which was attributed in part to Affordable Care Act provisions that require states to maintain existing coverage. Eight states expanded eligibility for children, while three offered increased coverage of parents and other adults.
Among the other findings:
For the full article please go here.
Among the other findings:
For the full article please go here.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Using Evidence to Motivate Hospital Employees from H and HN
All too often, we miss out on opportunities to learn from another area of our business. One clinical approach that can be emulated throughout the hospital is evidence-based practice, which integrates current research, caregiver perspectives and experience, and patient preferences. [For more information, see Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare by B. Melnyk and E. Fineout-Overholt;Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005.]
Physicians and nursing professionals have been using EBP in various forms since the 1970s to improve patient care outcomes. Its longevity is due to its documented success in many different areas, including infection prevention and patient falls.
In more recent years, scholars have studied and written about evidence-based leadership and evidence-based management. A logical progression in this thinking is evidence-based employee engagement. Employees are engaged when they are satisfied (they like what they do), energized (they put effort behind it) and productive (their work contributes to organizational goals). Leaders who are effective in engaging others are facilitators of the engagement process. Because no one external source can motivate an employee, providing an environment that encourages intrinsic motivators is critical.
For the full article please go here.
Physicians and nursing professionals have been using EBP in various forms since the 1970s to improve patient care outcomes. Its longevity is due to its documented success in many different areas, including infection prevention and patient falls.
In more recent years, scholars have studied and written about evidence-based leadership and evidence-based management. A logical progression in this thinking is evidence-based employee engagement. Employees are engaged when they are satisfied (they like what they do), energized (they put effort behind it) and productive (their work contributes to organizational goals). Leaders who are effective in engaging others are facilitators of the engagement process. Because no one external source can motivate an employee, providing an environment that encourages intrinsic motivators is critical.
For the full article please go here.
The KHN Conversation: 'Innovation' Advisors On Achieving CMS' Triple Aim from Kaiser Health News
One of the more controversial, yet least expensive, aspects of the health law is starting to kick in.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has launched the Innovation Center, which is supposed to experiment with different ways to deliver health care more efficiently. As one of its first initiatives, the center has selected 73 people to be “Innovation Advisors.” Their year-long commitment with CMS' Innovation Center requires they test out an idea -- with the goal of improving health, improving quality of care and decreasing costs -- and, if successful, could see it scaled up by CMS.
Among those first selected to receive grants of as much as $20,000 are doctors, nurses, hospital executives, public health and policy experts, and they represent institutions in 27 states plus the District of Columbia. CMS expects to pick as many as 200 advisors by the end of the year.
For the full article please go here.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has launched the Innovation Center, which is supposed to experiment with different ways to deliver health care more efficiently. As one of its first initiatives, the center has selected 73 people to be “Innovation Advisors.” Their year-long commitment with CMS' Innovation Center requires they test out an idea -- with the goal of improving health, improving quality of care and decreasing costs -- and, if successful, could see it scaled up by CMS.
Among those first selected to receive grants of as much as $20,000 are doctors, nurses, hospital executives, public health and policy experts, and they represent institutions in 27 states plus the District of Columbia. CMS expects to pick as many as 200 advisors by the end of the year.
For the full article please go here.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Are Health Law Backers Nervous About The High Court's Review? from Kaiser Health News
The Hill reports that some supporters have recently shifted their tone about the health law challenges being "frivolous," acknowledging the Supreme Court wouldn't allow so much time for arguments if the justices viewed the issues as "a waste of time." Also, Politico explores the fate of the law's Medicaid expansion in the context of the court challenge, and CQ HealthBeat reports on the addition of plaintiffs and more amicus briefs.
The Hill: Court Angst For Left Over Health Care
Supporters of President Obama's healthcare reform have lost the high level of confidence they once displayed that the Supreme Court would throw out constitutional challenges to the law's individual mandate. Many liberals and some Democratic leaders initially waved off lawsuits challenging the law's individual mandate, saying the suits were "frivolous" political stunts. But that tone has shifted significantly since the Supreme Court devoted nearly six hours to arguments in the case — a modern record. That the high court would set aside so much time for the landmark case suggests that the justices certainly don't see the challenges as a waste of time (Baker, 1/18).
Politico: Supreme Court Holds Fate Of Medicaid
Legal experts say no one can predict what the high court will do — particularly because many were surprised that the Supreme Court agreed to consider the Medicaid portion of the big multistate challenge to President Barack Obama's health reform law in the first place (Feder, 1/17).
For the full article please go here.
The Hill: Court Angst For Left Over Health Care
Supporters of President Obama's healthcare reform have lost the high level of confidence they once displayed that the Supreme Court would throw out constitutional challenges to the law's individual mandate. Many liberals and some Democratic leaders initially waved off lawsuits challenging the law's individual mandate, saying the suits were "frivolous" political stunts. But that tone has shifted significantly since the Supreme Court devoted nearly six hours to arguments in the case — a modern record. That the high court would set aside so much time for the landmark case suggests that the justices certainly don't see the challenges as a waste of time (Baker, 1/18).
Politico: Supreme Court Holds Fate Of Medicaid
Legal experts say no one can predict what the high court will do — particularly because many were surprised that the Supreme Court agreed to consider the Medicaid portion of the big multistate challenge to President Barack Obama's health reform law in the first place (Feder, 1/17).
For the full article please go here.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Surviving Modern Healthcare: Gaining Confidence as a Nurse from Nurse Together
No matter who we are or what career path we have chosen, becoming familiar with the role and its responsibility takes time. The difference in nursing versus another non-healthcare related career is that one mistake can cost a patient their life, so for us, the stakes are high. This pressure contributes to stress and fear, especially as new, inexperienced nurses enter the field. Thirty seven years of nursing has taught me many things in relation to the notion of confidence and competence and there are ways to ensure that you possess both. It has also been my experience that the most confident nurses may not be the most competent nurses and throughout my life I have met many individuals that seemed to be visions in their own minds that did not manifest itself in their performance. New and evolving nurses can improve their confidence and competence by thinking about the following strategies.
Realize That You Don’t Know It All
For the full article please go here.
Realize That You Don’t Know It All
For the full article please go here.
Social Media and Healthcare from Nurse Together
Social Media and Healthcare are two words that don’t always mix well. With student nurses getting kicked out of school for posting pictures on Facebook or a doctor being fired because he made a comment about a patient on Twitter, some healthcare organizations and nurses are leery of joining the social media bandwagon.
But social media can work in healthcare without breaching HIPPA laws if done right, and nurses can be at the forefront of this movement by providing accurate information that patients are seeking online.
For the full article please go here.
But social media can work in healthcare without breaching HIPPA laws if done right, and nurses can be at the forefront of this movement by providing accurate information that patients are seeking online.
For the full article please go here.
Data: Hospice Programs Grow in Popularity from H and HN
The popularity of hospice programs continues to rise, according to a new study from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Association. In 2001, 18.8 percent of Medicare patients who passed away accessed three days or more off hospice care; by 2007, 30.1 percent of Medicare decedents did so. The study also found the average length of stay for hospice patients is declining, from 69 days in 2009 to 67.3 days in 2010.
Among the other findings:
In 2010, 1.58 million patients received hospice care. Of those, 1.029 million died under hospice care, roughly 292,000 remained in hospice care at the end of 2010 and 259,000 were discharged.
In 2010, roughly 41.9 percent of all U.S. deaths were under the care of a hospice program.
Approximately 35.3 percent of hospice patients died or were discharged within seven days of admission, up from 34.4 percent in 2009.
The majority of hospice patients receive care at home; however, the proportion of hospice patients who died in acute care facilities increased from 10.1 percent in 2009 to 11.4 percent in 2010.
For the full article please go here.
Among the other findings:
In 2010, 1.58 million patients received hospice care. Of those, 1.029 million died under hospice care, roughly 292,000 remained in hospice care at the end of 2010 and 259,000 were discharged.
In 2010, roughly 41.9 percent of all U.S. deaths were under the care of a hospice program.
Approximately 35.3 percent of hospice patients died or were discharged within seven days of admission, up from 34.4 percent in 2009.
The majority of hospice patients receive care at home; however, the proportion of hospice patients who died in acute care facilities increased from 10.1 percent in 2009 to 11.4 percent in 2010.
For the full article please go here.
The High Cost Of A Good Night's Sleep from Kaiser Health News
On a Monday night in December, Lauretta Martin, 47, visited the sleep lab at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C. for the second time. On her first visit, Martin, a heavyset woman whose husband reports she is a loud snorer, was diagnosed with sleep apnea. This time, she was being fitted for a CPAP machine, which helps keep a snorer’s airway open throughout the night.
The sleep lab has six testing rooms, each of which looks just like a room at a Holiday Inn, with striped wallpaper, a floral bedspread, framed prints of the seaside and free wifi.
For the full article please go here.
The sleep lab has six testing rooms, each of which looks just like a room at a Holiday Inn, with striped wallpaper, a floral bedspread, framed prints of the seaside and free wifi.
For the full article please go here.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Preparing for State-Run Health Insurance Exchanges By Ron Goldstein from Hospitals and Health News
The health care reform feature that likely will affect the greatest number of Americans — and hospitals — is state-run health insurance exchanges. As mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, every state must establish and launch its own exchange by Jan. 1, 2014, or default to a national fallback program. (States that cannot meet the 2014 deadline still can set up their own exchanges later as long as they give the federal government a year's notice to transition from a federally administered exchange.)
Health insurance exchanges will have a profound effect on how individuals and employers select and buy their health care. There will be an online, one-stop shopping mall where consumers, employers, insurance brokers and still-to-be-defined "navigators" easily will view competing health plans — comparing benefits, costs, provider networks and other features. Exchanges also will enable individuals to access subsidies and employers to access tax credits.
For the full article please go here.
Health insurance exchanges will have a profound effect on how individuals and employers select and buy their health care. There will be an online, one-stop shopping mall where consumers, employers, insurance brokers and still-to-be-defined "navigators" easily will view competing health plans — comparing benefits, costs, provider networks and other features. Exchanges also will enable individuals to access subsidies and employers to access tax credits.
For the full article please go here.
Hospital Statistics Chart Rise in Physician Employment By Haydn Bush from Hospitals and Health News
Roughly 20 percent of all physicians are now employed by hospitals.
The number of physicians employed by hospitals has grown by 32 percent since 2000, according to the recently released 2012 edition of AHA Hospital Statistics. Today, hospitals employ approximately 212,000 physicians, according to the book. Hospitals have a range of relationships with privileged physicians: 55.1 percent of physicians are not employed or under contract, while 20.3 percent are covered by a group contract; 17.3 percent are directly employed and 7.2 percent have individual contracts.
Among the other key findings:
For the full article please go here.
The number of physicians employed by hospitals has grown by 32 percent since 2000, according to the recently released 2012 edition of AHA Hospital Statistics. Today, hospitals employ approximately 212,000 physicians, according to the book. Hospitals have a range of relationships with privileged physicians: 55.1 percent of physicians are not employed or under contract, while 20.3 percent are covered by a group contract; 17.3 percent are directly employed and 7.2 percent have individual contracts.
Among the other key findings:
For the full article please go here.
Friday, January 6, 2012
National hospice company accused of fraud from MSNBC
A national hospice company improperly cycled patients through nursing homes and hospice with a goal of making as much profit as possible from Medicare, according to a whistleblower lawsuit announced this week.
Federal attorneys also sued the hospice company, AseraCare, alleging it milked Medicare’s hospice benefit by pressuring its employees to enroll people into hospice who weren’t dying and resisted discharging them despite evidence they weren’t deteriorating. One hospice patient who should have been immobile from end-stage heart disease was healthy enough to go to his granddaughter’s graduation and a berry-picking excursion with a friend, the government charges.
For years, some critics of Medicare’s hospice benefit have said that the way the government pays providers gives them financial incentives to abuse the system. The suits against AseraCare, a Fort Smith, Ark.-based hospice company operating in 19 states, follow several other suits against big hospice companies but go further in their allegations that the company coordinated its use of nursing care and hospice care to maximize Medicare reimbursements.
For the full article please go here.
Federal attorneys also sued the hospice company, AseraCare, alleging it milked Medicare’s hospice benefit by pressuring its employees to enroll people into hospice who weren’t dying and resisted discharging them despite evidence they weren’t deteriorating. One hospice patient who should have been immobile from end-stage heart disease was healthy enough to go to his granddaughter’s graduation and a berry-picking excursion with a friend, the government charges.
For years, some critics of Medicare’s hospice benefit have said that the way the government pays providers gives them financial incentives to abuse the system. The suits against AseraCare, a Fort Smith, Ark.-based hospice company operating in 19 states, follow several other suits against big hospice companies but go further in their allegations that the company coordinated its use of nursing care and hospice care to maximize Medicare reimbursements.
For the full article please go here.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
US Cancer Deaths Continue To Fall, ACS Report from Medical News Today
A new report from the American Cancer Society (ACS) shows that rates of cancer deaths in the United States continue the downward trend of the last two decades. The new figures show that over the past ten years of available data (up to 2008), cancer deaths have fallen by more than 1% a year in men and women for all but one of the racial/ethnic groups in the US, the exception being American Indians/Alaska Natives, among whom rates have remained stable.
The result is that more than a million cancer deaths have been avoided in the last 20 years, the ACS told the press.
The figures are in the ACS annual report, which was published online in the 4 January issue of the society's journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
For the full article please go here.
The result is that more than a million cancer deaths have been avoided in the last 20 years, the ACS told the press.
The figures are in the ACS annual report, which was published online in the 4 January issue of the society's journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
For the full article please go here.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
8 key issues for population health management in 2012 from HealthCareITNews.com
Recently, the Care Continuum Alliance, an advocate for population health management, surveyed industry leaders to assess the market and predict key issues for 2012. According to the alliance’s white paper, two predominant themes were brought to light as a result of the survey.
“First, significant market movement will occur toward accountability and value creation in healthcare, driven partly by new physician-guided and collaborative models,” according to the report. “And second, population health management is well-positioned to add value to and support these emerging models, but must continue to build the case for wellness and prevention.”
Here are eight additional key issues, identified in the report, that could affect population health management in 2012.
For the full article please go here.
“First, significant market movement will occur toward accountability and value creation in healthcare, driven partly by new physician-guided and collaborative models,” according to the report. “And second, population health management is well-positioned to add value to and support these emerging models, but must continue to build the case for wellness and prevention.”
Here are eight additional key issues, identified in the report, that could affect population health management in 2012.
For the full article please go here.
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