Hospital Case Management articles from September 2008

Hospital Case Management archives from September 2008

Provide information to ensure patients safely transition through the continuum.
September 1, 2008... Provide information to ensure patients safely transition through the continuum Breakdown in following plan of care can lead to rehospitalization Everyone in the health care field has heard horror stories about patients' needs falling...

Empower patients at the next level of care.
September 1, 2008... Empower patients at the next level of care Provide information orally and in writing Every time an airplane takes off, airline staff empower passengers with information so they can be active participants in saving themselves if there...

CARE tool follows patients through continuum.
September 1, 2008... CARE tool follows patients through continuum Assessment instrument being tested A patient assessment tool being tested in a Medicare demonstration project is intended to standardize the information providers share as patients...

Start to get your facility ready to use the CARE tool.(Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation )
September 1, 2008... Start to get your facility ready to use the CARE tool Develop relationships with post-acute providers It will be several years before the Centers for Medi-care & Medicaid Services (CMS) will require hospitals to use the Continuity...

CMS to add outpatient quality measures to OPPS.
September 1, 2008... CMS to add outpatient quality measures to OPPS Agency shifts to link reimbursement to quality In its proposed rule for the Outpatient Prospective Payment System, issued July 3, 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)...

Critical Path Network: Pilot admits patients from ED directly to post-acute care.
September 1, 2008... Critical Path Network Pilot admits patients from ED directly to post-acute care Collaborative improves capacity and throughput A collaborative effort between Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital emergency department staff and...

Critical Path Network: Initiatives address ED overcrowding, diversion.
September 1, 2008... Critical Path Network Initiatives address ED overcrowding, diversion Solution includes ED observation unit Faced with an increase in emergency department visits and a rising inpatient census, the chief executive officers at...

Critical Path Network: Six Sigma projects improve throughput.
September 1, 2008... Critical Path Network Six Sigma projects improve throughput Goal is 80% of discharges by 2 p.m. As part of its patient throughput initiative, Spartanburg (SC) Regional Health System set a goal of discharging 80% of patients by 2...

Ambulatory Care Quarterly: When patients show up without an escort to drive.
September 1, 2008... When patients show up without an escort to drive Take steps to avoid liability An outpatient surgery patient shows up with-out an escort to drive him home. Despite the nurse's insistence, the patient indicates he doesn't have anyone...

Two cases show dangers when patients drive home.
September 1, 2008... Two cases show dangers when patients drive home Two cases from the Canadian Medical Protective Association, a mutual defense organization for 95% of Canadian physicians, illustrate the danger of patients driving home after ambulatory...

Will your patient be safe after the ED visit?
September 1, 2008... Will your patient be safe after the ED visit? Once a patient with violence-related traumatic injuries is stable and about to be discharged, you have to consider something equally important: Will he or she be safe after leaving your ED? ...

When you suspect abuse, ask the right questions.
September 1, 2008... When you suspect abuse, ask the right questions Patients won't reveal abuse unless asked A simple fall in a healthy person shouldn't result in multiple facial injuries, except if the patient was intoxicated, says Regina Curry, RN, an...

CNE objectives/questions.
September 1, 2008... CNE objectives 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; ...