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Health care providers routinely discuss confidential patient information in hospital hallways, cafeterias, and lobbies, two researchers have concluded. Hospital staff need to be more aware and more careful about discussing protected patient information out in the open, says Marifran Mattson, PhD, associate professor of communications at Purdue.
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Early this summer, several factors brought renewed attention to the possibility of terrorist attacks and appropriate responses on the part of the health care profession. To help prepare for an effective response for such an event, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released a tool to help state and local officials quickly locate alternate health care sites if hospitals are overwhelmed by patients due to a bioterrorism attack or other public health emergency.
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A physician-specific case management program provides continuity of care for patients and creates a close working relationship between case managers and physicians at Nazareth Hospital in Philadelphia. The hospital made the decision several years ago to assign case managers (known as care coordinators) and social workers by physician.
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The wound care center at Presbyterian Hospital of Plano (TX) takes a holistic approach to patient care by assigning each patient to one nurse who provides hands-on care and case management. The case management piece is unusual in the outpatient setting. The outpatient wound care case management program has paid off in outcomes that have improved steadily.
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Salaries for case management are increasing, but the vast majority of case managers are working far more than the traditional 40-hour week, according to the results of the 2004 Hospital Case Management Salary Survey. The 2004 survey was mailed to readers of HCM in the June issue. More than half the respondents (58%) were case management directors. Others were case managers, utilization managers, social workers, or had other titles.
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Infection control professionals in a group of cancer centers have developed an algorithm to help meet new patient safety goals by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. The Joint Commission requires health care organizations to manage as sentinel events all identified cases of unanticipated death or major loss of function due to nosocomial infections.
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A team effort to improve care for congestive heart failure and heart attack patients has paid off for Saint Lukes Hospital and Mid American Heart Institute of Kansas City, MO. The health care organization has been recognized by VHA Inc., a cooperative of not-for-profit health care organizations, for surpassing national standards for clinical excellence in treating the two cardiac conditions.
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Hospitals need to ramp up their preparedness for pandemic influenza, a threat that is heightened by the continuing spread of avian influenza among birds and mammals in Asia, cautions the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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Poorly fitting respirators may cause additional headaches for hospitals as they scramble to fit-test hundreds of employees to comply with U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations.
