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These are some of the patterns and unusual illnesses detected by the bioterrorism surveillance system being used in some Florida hospitals.
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Fast-track systems and 23-hour observation units are helping EDs across the country reduce ambulance diversions, but more effort is needed, one analyst says. A hospitalwide focus on more efficient use of beds also is helping ease the problem, she adds.
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Question: Should we have a plan for responding to patients on the hospital property, but not in the ED area, when they need or request emergency care? The final rule seems to make clear that we are not obligated to rush out of the ED to provide care for anyone who does not come to a dedicated emergency department, but were not clear on what should happen when that person is elsewhere on the campus.
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As an ED manager, you may be accustomed to handling the brunt of responsibility for accreditation surveys. But under the new Shared Visions New Pathways process from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, surveyors will be talking with your staff and your patients. How on earth can you prepare for that?
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If your hospital is a large urban facility, you may have large numbers of staff with individual departments responsible for performance improvement, patient safety, and data collection and abstracting. Unfortunately, many quality managers at smaller facilities are not so lucky.
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Would you like to improve retention and satisfaction of nursing staff and make patients safer at the same time? The two goals are intrinsically linked, according to Diana Berkland, MS, RN, vice president of clinical administrative services and chief nurse executive at Sioux Valley Hospital USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, SD.
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One of the best ways to gain hospitalwide commitment to performance excellence is through participation in a self-assessment using the criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige Quality award.
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A Medicaid disease management program represents a huge potential to improve the health of the publicly insured while decreasing overall health care costs, Sandeep Wadhwa, MD, asserts.
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In the first 12 months of a comprehensive disease management program for members with 17 chronic conditions and diseases, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota saved $36 million in claims, with a return-on-investment of $2.90 for every dollar spent.
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If you are a case manager who also is performing disease management activities, keep in mind that the two activities require distinctly different skill sets, suggests Rufus Howe, RN-C, MN.