Hospital Home Health Archives – November 1, 2008
November 1, 2008
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Massage, music, and meditation become extra tools for HHA staff
The use of integrative medicine therapies continues to grow, with hospitals opening integrative medicine centers and health care providers offering massage therapy and acupuncture. -
Complementary therapies offer new options
Complementary. Integrative. Alternative. These three words often have been used interchangeably to describe non-traditional therapies to relieve pain or stress and reduce anxiety and heart rates. Before including these therapies in your home health services, be sure to know how to describe them. -
Hurricane Ike tests HH emergency plans
Winds that exceeded 80 miles per hour, storm surges that covered major streets, and power outages that lasted more than a week for many people were just a few of the effects of Hurricane Ike. The good news for Texas hospice and home health organizations is that their emergency plans worked well. -
Hurricane: Lessons learned improve preparedness
There is nothing like a real emergency to test and evaluate your hospice emergency preparedness plan. Although hospices and home care agency managers interviewed by Hospital Home Health came through Hurricanes Gustav and Ike with flying colors, they all identified additions that will enhance their plans. -
Electronic records are great except during power outages
Laptops and other point-of-care documentation systems have greatly increased the efficiency of hospice clinicians. -
Long lines at gas pumps not limited to coastal areas
Hospice staff members in areas directly affected by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike knew to prepare for gasoline shortages or the inability to access gasoline due to power outages, but when you are 800 miles away from the hurricane's landfall, your emergency plans typically don't plan for gasoline shortages. -
Use Internet to speed referral process
In today's fast food society, a speedy response often determines which home health agency gets the referral. By taking advantage of the speed of the Internet to secure and process referrals, Swedish Home Care in Seattle was able to boost referrals by 80% and slash referral processing time by 75%. -
News Brief: AHRQ says telehealth can improve home care
Patient safety and quality of care are improved with the use of telehealth, according to a recent report by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ). -
CMS takes steps to fight fraud
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is consolidating its fraud detection efforts; strengthening its oversight of medical equipment suppliers and home health agencies; and launching the national recovery audit contractor (RAC) program. -
Palliative care saves money, study says
A palliative care program can save hospitals an average of at least $279 per day, up to $374 per day, according to a study of eight hospitals by the Center to Advance Palliative Care and the National Palliative Care Research Center.