Hospital Home Health articles from October 2003

Hospital Home Health archives from October 2003

Working in the dark: recent blackout teaches new crisis-planning lessons: unreliable communications, no gasoline challenge HHAs.(home health agencies)
October 1, 2003... There is nothing like an emergency to test your emergency plan, as agencies in an area east of New York City, north to Toronto, and west to Detroit discovered on Aug. 14 as a rolling blackout affected almost 50 million people. "We are...

Your quality info to be made public soon: national rollout of CMS web site in October.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
October 1, 2003... The effect of Home Health Compare, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) web site that publicizes results of 11 home health quality indicators, has been minimal for agencies located in the eight pilot test states. Home Health...

With adverse events, don't stick your head in the sand: adverse event reports can strengthen QI.(quality improvement)
October 1, 2003... The phrase "adverse event outcome reports" might make you want to run and hide, but these reports can be a wealth of information and require constant attention by all home health agencies, according to experts interviewed by Hospital Home...

Losing staff to burnout? Recognize the symptoms: fatigue, sloppiness, complaints signal burnout.
October 1, 2003... "I'm tired of the paperwork. I don't enjoy seeing so many patients in one day. I'm not satisfied with my work. I just feel burned out." Burnout is a hard state of mind to define, but many times it is one reason that good employees leave,...

Care network addresses employees' needs: all benefit as they help co-workers.
October 1, 2003... Helping employees deal with problems, illness, and even death in their own families is one tactic used by Riverways Home Care Services of Ozarks Medical Center in Westplains, MO, to retain employees. Because the relationship among the staff...

Market services carefully to avoid legal pitfalls.(Legal ease: understanding laws, rules, regulations)
October 1, 2003... Home-care providers face a variety of significant legal issues. During initial implementation of the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS), many agencies faced a number of challenges that made it difficult to devote resources to key legal...

JCAHO announces new quality reports for 2004.(Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations plans to release quality reports on all Joint Commission-accredited facilities starting in 2004. The reports, which will replace current organization-specific...

OIG reports on transaction and code set compliance.(Office of the Inspector General)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Ninety-four percent of Medicare Part B providers expect to be in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's (HIPAA) transactions and code sets standards by the Oct. 16 compliance date, according to a recent report...

Free caregiver resource available on-line.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The National Alliance for Caregiving in Bethesda, MD, and Friends and Relatives of Institutionalized Aged (FRIA) in New York City have created a family caregiver's resource on palliative care. The publication defines palliative care and...

CE question.
October 1, 2003... For more information about the CE program, contact customer service at (800) 688-2421. 1. What is one change that Greg Solecki, vice president of Henry Ford Home Health Care in Detroit, plans to make in future lease agreements following...