Hospice Management Advisor articles from November 2004

Hospice Management Advisor archives from November 2004

National trends show a need to link hospice care and long-term facilities; marketing to nursing homes requires persistence.(Special report: expanding hospice to alternative sites)
November 1, 2004... (Editor's note: This month, we begin a two-part series of articles on how hospices can extend their expertise. In this issue, we examine potential links between hospice and long-term care facilities. The December issue will discuss how to make...

Experts offer these tips for bonding with SNFs: emphasize what you can do for them.(Skilled nursing facility)
November 1, 2004... When a hospice manager visits with a nursing home director to discuss hospice referrals, the focus should be on more than just what the hospice can do for patients; emphasis also should be placed on what the hospice can do for the skilled...

Turn core values into value-added improvements: Florida hospice improves all areas of organization.
November 1, 2004... It may be popular these days for hospices to create a statement of their core values as part of a management and organizational exercise, but that's just the easy part. The real challenge is making the core values mean something and...

Managing pressure ulcers lowers liability risks; teach patients, families to know the signs.(Guest Column)
November 1, 2004... Calculation of damages in malpractice cases involving negligence often includes the life expectancy of injured patients as a key component. Therefore, agencies should, at least in theory, have some added protection against large monetary...

Follow your own rules for background checks: verify employee's suitability for unsupervised care.(Guest Column)
November 1, 2004... In July 1995, a baby boy was born with esophageal reflex, causing him to vomit day and night. The child's condition prevented the mother and father from sleeping through the night. In addition, the mother suffered from postpartum depression....

JCAHO advises caution with certain drug names: organizations to create watch list.(Guest Column)
November 1, 2004... Home health agencies must choose at least 10 look-alike and sound-alike drug names to place on their watch list of medications that can be easily confused, in order to meet the 2005 National Patient Safety Goal that focuses on improving the...

Report shows value of telemonitoring.(News From the End of Life)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Remote physiological monitoring can help reduce hospital visits, length of stay, and health care costs for heart failure patients while improving patients' quality of life, according to a study by the New England Healthcare Institute. The study...

Laws hinder adoption of health IT, study says.(News From the End of Life)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Legal barriers posed by certain fraud and abuse, antitrust, federal income tax, intellectual property, malpractice, and state licensing laws hinder providers' adoption of health information technology, the Government Accountability Office (GAO)...

Study: inhalation drug reimbursement too low.(News From the End of Life)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A study of inhalation drug therapy services provided to Medicare beneficiaries in their homes finds the new 2005 Medicare reimbursement formula paid on average sales price (ASP) would under-reimburse for the actual cost of providing two key...

Resources listed for HIPAA compliance.(News From the End of Life)(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A comprehensive list of documents that provide guidance to compliance with the privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) can be found in a white paper produced by the Health Care Security Workgroup, a...