Hospital Case Management articles from December 2003

Hospital Case Management archives from December 2003

Hospital's SNF placement initiative improves efficiency, speeds discharge: 30% of patients are placed within 24 hours.(skilled nursing facilities )
December 1, 2003... Before Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center started an initiative to improve the transition of patients to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), about 12% of the Lebanon, NH, facility's patient days were patients waiting for SNF placement. Now,...

Close relationship with SNFs benefits both parties: hospital, nursing home staff collaborate.(skilled nursing facilities)
December 1, 2003... When Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, undertook an initiative to improve the efficiency of nursing homes admissions, the task force looked at ways to improve communication and collaboration with local skilled nursing...

Documentation initiative pays off for hospitals: care managers perform intensive concurrent review.
December 1, 2003... Since Hurley Medical Center in Flint, MI, began a comprehensive program to improve documentation, reimbursement has improved and the hospital's severity of illness and risk of mortality data have come in line with benchmark data. "Before...

New program helps breast cancer patients: successful pilot becomes full-time program.(case management program )
December 1, 2003... A case management program for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients at MeritCare Health System in Fargo, ND, helps women smoothly navigate through the health care maze as they make treatment decisions. The program started out as a pilot...

Fowcharts are basis for symptom-based tools in the ED.(emergency department)
December 1, 2003... Health care providers have access to plenty of flowcharts and algorithms designed to guide the treatment of patients with particular diagnoses, but many of them aren't designed for use in the emergency department (ED). What good is a flowchart...

Stroke centers can cut LOS, boost outcomes: complicated process needs multidisciplinary team.
December 1, 2003... Stroke centers with specialized stroke teams have the potential to improve outcomes and decrease lengths of stay (LOS) for facilities that previously have relied solely on pre-hospital and emergency department (ED) infrastructure. This...

Research shows ED case management saves dollars: update of pivotal study shows cost savings.(Ambulatory Care Quarterly)
December 1, 2003... Researchers are set to release new data confirming the benefits of a case management strategy heralded three years ago as a way to decrease the cost of treating repeat patients in the emergency department (ED). The program first piloted in a...

Resource drive for ED nurses saves $12,000.(Ambulatory Care Quarterly)
December 1, 2003... Wouldn't you love for emergency department (ED) nurses to have a quick, easy way to access department policies, updates, drip charts, dosing protocols, telephone numbers, and procedures for infrequent ordering processes? "Access to many...

Get a handle on claims denials with database: denial rates affect reimbursement.(Ambulatory Care Quarterly)
December 1, 2003... If you think your hospital doesn't have a problem with denials, then you aren't doing enough to track them, says Christine Collins, CHAM, director of patient access for Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. The heart of successful denial...

CE objectives.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... After reading each issue of Hospital Case Management, the nurse will be able to do the following: * identify particular clinical, administrative, or regulatory issues related to the profession of case management; * describe how those...