Hospital Case Management articles from October 2003

Hospital Case Management archives from October 2003

Program coordinates care, resources for medically complex children: special needs case managers are liaison between providers.
October 1, 2003... A typical day for Deb Jablonski, RN, CCM, may include going to visit a specialist with the family of a medically complex child; working with the inpatient case managers and treatment team at the hospital to coordinate the care of a hospitalized...

Follow-up system aims to improve patient safety: 80% called unclear about follow-up appointment.
October 1, 2003... A study by Irvine, CA-based Cogent Healthcare Inc. has confirmed what many case managers know instinctively: Following discharge from the hospital, many patients are confused about their medication, their discharge instructions, and when to...

Make sure that you are culturally competent: CMs should prepare to treat a diverse population.
October 1, 2003... Case managers shouldn't wait for their hospitals to institute cultural competency initiatives. They should try to become more aware of their patients' culture and beliefs on their own and make it a continuing process, asserts Joyce E. Vaughn,...

Cancer rehab improves function, quality of life: programs help patients cope with side effects.(Critical Path Network[TM])
October 1, 2003... The National Cancer Act of 1971 set cancer rehabilitation as a goal and provided money to develop training programs and research projects. Soon after, the Bethesda, MD-based National Cancer Institute identified four objectives for...

Patient satisfaction depends on staff morale: ED manager who scores high shares tips.(Critical Path Network[TM])
October 1, 2003... If you want to improve your patient satisfaction ratings, don't start by looking at how happy your patients are. Start by looking at satisfaction levels among your staff. That's some advice from an emergency department (ED) manager who can...

Independent CMs face greater HIPAA challenge: don't debate; get authorization.(Discharge Planning Advisor[R]--the update for improving continuity of care)
October 1, 2003... Whether as employees of covered health care entity or independent business associates, case managers must ensure that they are ill compliance with the privacy requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). ...

Enhance care by making CM part of Medicare: value of case managers 'yet to be recognized'.(Discharge Planning Advisor[R]--the update for improving continuity of care)
October 1, 2003... Even with their dependence on health maintenance organizations (HMOs), many of the nation's elderly suffer from a lack of coordinated care, are often confused about their treatment--including proper use of medications--and frequently end up in...

How to determine 'what's a business associate?'.(Discharge Planning Advisor[R]--the update for improving continuity of care)
October 1, 2003... Case managers sometimes are confused, as to what constitutes a "business associate as referred to in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), notes Cathy Kauffman-Nearhoof, RN, BSN, CCM, NMCC, CLNC, owner of lntegrist...

CE questions.
October 1, 2003... 13. Special needs case managers at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin typically do not manage the care of children with multiple disabilities. A. true B. false 14. Which is not a responsibility of special needs case managers at...

Make diversity a part of daily operations: orientation, mentors make difference.(Discharge Planning Advisor[R]--the update for improving continuity of care)
October 1, 2003... At SSM Rehab in St. Louis, diversity has become part of the institutional culture. Staff have successfully built diversity into its ongoing operations rather than instituting one program that would meet federal and industry guidelines, says...

CCMC seeks feedback on revised code of conduct.
October 1, 2003... The Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC) in Rolling Meadows, IL, is revising its Code of Professional Conduct for case managers and is seeking feedback on the draft revision from professionals in the case management field, including...

Hospital safety initiative targets behavioral health unit: falls committee takes careful look at geropsych issues.
October 1, 2003... The behavioral health department may not be the first place you would look to launch a patient safety initiative, but the team at Overlook Hospital in Summit, NJ, is expecting just such an undertaking to yield big dividends. Two years ago,...

Study shows safety risks for children, value of tool: algorithms target processes with patient safety.
October 1, 2003... A new study of 3.8 million discharge records for children indicates that these younger patients experienced substantial numbers of potentially preventable patient safety problems during hospital stays in 1997. This is the first...

HHS, hospital associations team up for patient safety.
October 1, 2003... The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the American Medical Association (AMA), has announced a campaign to help distribute valuable information about improving...