Occupational therapy is a bit like case management. In both vocations, the greater healthcare community (and population in general) is not entirely familiar with their purpose. Both positions often are all-encompassing, diverse, and necessary as they consider the whole person. Both occupational therapists and case managers often play a role in helping control hospital spending.

Taking all antihypertensive agents before bed vs. upon awakening in hypertensive patients showed there was less hypertension during sleep and few cardiovascular events over a six-year follow-up.

Advancements in the area of personalized medicine and understanding how one’s genetics affect health outcomes is an evolving science. The addition of pharmacogenetic testing to the armamentarium of primary care providers presents an opportunity to improve patient care.

Taking all antihypertensive agents before bed vs. upon awakening in hypertensive patients showed there was less hypertension during sleep and few cardiovascular events over a six-year follow-up.

Clinicians and researchers should improve informed consent so that people living with HIV have a realistic understanding of treatment options and possible outcomes.

A case management-type of model, called primary care intensive management, could provide some limited benefits for more complex patients, research shows. But the research also suggests questions about how population health resources are best spent.

Investigators studied five years of clinical and economic outcomes data for 1,800 patients insured through their employers. They found that when the employees participated in a web-based health literacy program, hospitalizations dropped by 32%, emergency department visits were down 14%, and overall costs declined 11%.

A program that used nurse navigators with heart failure patients cut its 30-day readmission rate in half and provided more thorough follow-up care in transitioning patients home.