Articles Tagged With: hospitals
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Practice the Five Disciplines in Case Management
Hospital case managers, just as case managers in all work settings, have faced unbelievable challenges this year. Hospitals are slowly transitioning back to more of a “normal” environment. With the new year approaching, it is a good time to revisit the Five Disciplines that help case management teams refocus on the business side of client care.
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COVID-19 Increases Need for Case Managers
COVID-19 has spurred myriad changes in hospitals as providers scrambled to adapt to the new normal. That includes new and creative ways to connect and support patients.
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Medical Records in the COVID-19 Era: Renewing the Case for Interoperability
The problems of electronic medical records (EMRs) have been all too real during this pandemic. Patients with life-threatening COVID-19 symptoms have gone to hospitals without family or friends. They may not recall critical details of their medical history, including medications. At the crux of this crisis is the patient’s EMR, which holds important details that help providers make treatment decisions. Too often in hospitals, healthcare providers cannot access all these records, which is frustrating for everyone.
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Rural Hospitals Struggle Amid Budgetary Constraints, Reporting Requirements
Hospitals across the United States have their hands full dealing with COVID-19 pandemic-related obstacles that are straining resources and increasing the stress levels of frontline providers. Meanwhile, hospitals in many rural communities are facing added concerns. Many have seen their already-precarious financial health pushed almost to the breaking point while staff struggle to keep up with ever-changing medical advisories and reporting requirements. All this on top of meeting the care needs of their communities in an environment where many patients fear accessing care.
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Hospitals Cut Common Infection Cases by Half with Scalable Process for System Goals
When hospitals in Massachusetts were facing a merger, leaders sought to address the quality issue head-on and achieved substantial improvements in some categories, including a reduction in Clostridioides difficile cases.
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Prosecutors May Look for COVID-Related Restructuring Fraud
Risk managers should be on the alert for fraud and abuse related to reimbursement issues and financial restructuring related to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the high reimbursement rates for a COVID-19 diagnosis for hospitals and an additional large sum for the use of a ventilator, the potential for fraud and abuse in hospitals is substantial.
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Palliative Care and Ethical Considerations in the COVID-19 ICU
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an ICU environment different from what we have ever seen in our lifetimes that has deep palliative care and ethical repercussions.
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‘Masks Work’: CDC Urges Public to Follow Healthcare Worker Example
Public health officials are citing a hospital study on the efficacy of mask use among healthcare workers and patients in preventing COVID-19 transmission to support recommendations recommendations for universal masking in the community.
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Analysis Reveals Extent of COVID-19 Damage to U.S. Healthcare Finances
The CARES Act was a critical lifeboat, but more assistance is necessary to prevent the system from drowning in red ink.
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Patient Handwashing: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
The COVID-19 pandemic adds impetus to a longstanding mission of a nurse scientist: getting hospitalized patients to wash their hands. Somewhat surprisingly, this commonsense measure is not in effect at many facilities, although it is known that patients can contaminate their own invasive lines and self-inoculate infections.