Hospital Home Health articles from September 2003

Hospital Home Health archives from September 2003

Don't accept depression as the norm for elderly; ask the right questions: if you evaluate correctly, treatment can be successful.
September 1, 2003... Your patient is sleeping more, seems less energetic when awake, has lost interest in a favorite hobby, or has trouble following conversations. For home health patients, these symptoms can be the result of myriad conditions from diabetes to...

Assess cognitive problems to treat illnesses early: homework now will save emergency visits later.
September 1, 2003... "Don't worry, Mom; I'm not going to make you go to a nursing home. You're not sick enough to have to leave your home. After all, home health nurses will be visiting to make sure you're OK." This is a familiar scenario for home health...

Home health and adult care programs team up: find compatible services, goals to ensure success.
September 1, 2003... In February 2001, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services changed the wording in its definition of homebound to allow for Medicare home health patients to attend adult day care without jeopardizing the patients' home health coverage. (1)...

Educational initiatives create valuable staff: language, high-school equivalency classes pay off.
September 1, 2003... (Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part series that looks at home health aide retention issues such as training, supervision, and benefits. Last month, experts talked about factors that motivate and retain aides. This month, innovative...

Look for same values to predict who will stay.
September 1, 2003... There is no such thing as a crystal ball that will tell you which employees will be with you after a year, but there are ways a manager can tell if an employee is likely to stay with you, says Patricia Jump, RN, president of Acorns End Training...

Document carefully to prove your actions.(LegalEase: understanding laws, rules, regulations)
September 1, 2003... There is an old saying among health providers: "If you did not document it, you did not do it." Harsh as this adage may sound, generally it still is true. Staff members frequently do the right thing in the course of patient care, but fail...

Providers gear up for new HIPAA regulations.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services won't seek out and issue fines and penalties to health care organizations that don't comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) transactions and code sets rule after...

JCAHO revises areas for random surveys in 2004.(Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has revised the fixed and variable performance areas that will be evaluated during random unannounced surveys beginning next year. Starting in 2004, performance will be...

Free HIV information available for patients.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Clearly written, straightforward information about HIV, antiviral dosing, lipodystrophy, and hepatitis C are available for both patients and health care providers at no cost from Visionary Health Concepts in New York City. To see a...

CE questions.
September 1, 2003... This concludes the CE semester. A CE evaluation form has been included with this issue. Please fill out and return in the envelope provided. If you have any questions, call customer service at (800) 688-2421. 21. To what should you...