Hospital Home Health articles from March 2004

Hospital Home Health archives from March 2004

Sharpen your pencils: nurses writing more as abbreviations disappear: no more 'd/c, u, Q.D., or Q.O.D.' on Joint Commission's list.
March 1, 2004... Old habits are hard to break. But the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is asking home health nurses to break some habits they've had since nursing school. National Patient Safety Goal #2 requires health care...

Hands-on classes = effective learning: don't rely on books or videotapes for education.
March 1, 2004... Employees spread over a large geographic area, people who don't like sitting in one place for any length of time, patient visits that don't always follow a "normal" schedule, and a lengthy list of educational classes that staff members must...

HIPAA privacy rule: myths and facts: expert responds to 13 persistent HIPAA myths.
March 1, 2004... During testimony late last year before the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics' Subcommittee on Privacy and Confidentiality, Janlori Goldman, director of the Health Privacy Project...

JCAHO strengthens infection standards: renewed interest in HAIs spurs agency to action.
March 1, 2004... The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has approved revised standards to help prevent the occurrence of deadly health care-associated infections (HAIs). The standards retain many of the concepts embodied in...

Nonmonetary gifts for referrals? Know the law.(Legal/Ease: understanding laws, rules, regulations)
March 1, 2004... Discharge planners and case managers certainly cannot accept cash payments from providers in exchange for referrals of patients. But what about non-cash items that have a relatively low value and that providers who receive referrals are not...

Two-page advance beneficiary notice gone.
March 1, 2004... Throw away the two-page advance beneficiary notice that you've had the option of using since 2002. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has said that the only advance beneficiary notice it will accept is the single-page notice...

New Jersey offers caregiver web site.
March 1, 2004... New Jersey has launched a caregiver web site that contains information about services and resources available to state residents who care for elderly or disabled family members. The site provides links to a variety of state and federal...

MedPAC: no payment update for home health.
March 1, 2004... Federal advisors were generous with recommendations to update Medicare payments to physicians and hospitals in 2005, but they were showing no generosity to the home health sector. Commissioners on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission...

CMS describes HIPAA authorization form.
March 1, 2004... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) offers a preview of a privacy authorization form that includes the core elements and necessary statements required in the privacy rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act...

Medicare covers test for colorectal cancer.
March 1, 2004... Medicare beneficiaries age 50 and older will qualify for coverage for annual screening immunoassay fecal-occult blood tests that are more patient-friendly than the previously covered guaiac fecal-occult blood test. The immunoassay test...

CE questions.
March 1, 2004... This concludes the CE semester. A CE evaluation form has been included with this issue. Please fill out end return in the envelope provided. If you have any questions, call customer service at (800) 888-2421. 21. According to Patricia W....