Resource Bank
Resource Bank
Web site helps seniors navigate Medicare
The Washington, DC-based American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging’s Center for Medicare Education has developed a Web site to assist care managers who help seniors navigate the increasingly confusing world of Medicare.
The new site at www.medicareed.org includes resources, technical assistance papers, information on upcoming events, ideas, and case studies on education efforts nationwide.
The goal of the center is to build an information infrastructure to support the many different kinds of professionals who find themselves counseling beneficiaries about their choices in the Medicare program and how to navigate the health care maze.
Web site empowers cancer patients and survivors
The American Cancer Society in Atlanta recently solidified an agreement with NexCura, an integrated e-company in Seattle, to "embed" NexCura’s Cancer Profiler interactive health care decision-support tools on the society’s Web site at www.cancer.org. The agreement allows visitors to www.cancer.org access to Cancer Profilers for breast, colorectal, prostate, and several other cancers.
"The agreement between the American Cancer Society and NexCura represents a technological breakthrough that will help us assist individual cancer patients and survivors with accurate, personalized treatment information that is relevant to their individual situations," says Harmon J. Eyre, MD, the society’s national chief medical officer.
"As the most trusted source of cancer information, with a 98% brand awareness, the American Cancer Society is in a unique position to support patients’ treatment information needs. We are excited to provide applications to enhance its services," says Eve M. Stern, president of NexCura.
NexCura’s Cancer Profilers link cancer patients with extensive databases of significant clinical studies. The Cancer Profilers generate unbiased, objective information tailored to patients’ individual medical situations and concerns. Information available from Cancer Profilers includes:
• full disclosure of treatment options for their specific disease states;
• risk tolerances for treatment options;
• potential side effects of treatment options;
• questions patients can ask their physicians;
• possible treatment outcomes and survival statistics.
The information can be printed out to facilitate discussion with family members and support the patient-physician dialogue.
Each Cancer Profiler will be accessed on www.cancer.org through the site’s Cancer Resource Centers for that form of the disease. To date, NexCura has developed Cancer Profilers for bladder, breast, cervical, colorectal, melanoma, ovarian, prostate, and uterine cancer.
Pharmacy program links seniors with nebulizers
Walgreens Health Initiatives in Deerfield, IL, recently launched a pharmacy program that provides nebulizer medication, equipment, and health care services to Medicare beneficiaries with chronic respiratory conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Many nebulizer medications used for respiratory therapy may be covered under Medicare Part B. Although some pharmacies do not offer billing services for covered Medicare services, Walgreens Health Initiatives accepts Medicare assignment and reimbursement specialists will also bill supplemental or Medi-Gap insurance for qualified patients.
Walgreens Health Initiatives ships medication and equipment directly to the patient’s home. In addition, patients receive refill reminders to help track reorder needs, and postage-paid reorder cards. Patients in the pharmacy programs receive phone calls every 30 days to ensure patients never run out of medication or supplies.
For more information on Walgreens Health Initiatives’ nebulizer medication program, call toll-free (888) 906-6746.
Check out workers’ comp resources for case managers
LRP Publications in Horsham, PA, has two resources designed to help return claimants to work safely and keep case managers informed about new developments in workers’ comp case law and other developments in the field. To order either of the resources described below, contact LRP Publications, Dept. 450, 747 Dresher Road, P O. Box 980, Horsham, PA 19044-0980. Telephone: (800) 341-7874. Fax: (215) 784-9639. E-mail: [email protected].
• 2000 Workers’ Compensation Year Book. This 508-page, soft-cover book summarizes the past year’s significant developments in workers’ compensation laws and judicial interpretations. It provides a comprehensive overview of issues you must know, including medical benefits, program costs, and disability benefits.
The book includes: tables comparing state workers’ compensation laws as of Jan. 1, 1999; timesaving summaries of as well as the full text of more than 50 significant court decisions; updates on workers’ compensation reform and selected state legislative developments; summaries of significant reports and surveys on workers’ compensation issues, including medical costs, most common injuries, risk manager’s opinions on global business and workplace violence.
Request product: #8000.DB00. Cost: $57.25 plus shipping and handling.
• Successful Return-to-Work Strategies. This 28-page pamphlet details companies’ successful return-to-work programs. It also explains the interplay between return-to-work policies, workers’ compensation, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act.
The resource includes: 10 components of a successful return-to-work program; low-tech ergonomic devices that reduce workers’ injuries by as much as 80%; legal parameters of a light-duty program; communication techniques to ease the return-to-work process.
Request product: #8000.RTW.A. Cost: $9.95 plus $3.50 shipping and handling.
Helpful tips are available for pacemaker patients
Pritchett & Hull Associates in Atlanta recently released the booklet, You Have a Pacemaker: A Guide for People with heart failure.
This informative 32-page booklet includes information on why a pacemaker is needed, how it is implanted, the different types of pacemakers and post-surgery instructions on acceptable activities. It is written in simple language with colorful illustrations designed to reassure patients that this is a safe and common procedure.
Topics covered include:
• care of the incision;
• clothes;
• medications;
• home appliances/microwave ovens.
The cost is $3.80 plus shipping and handling, with quantity discounts available upon request. To order, contact Pritchett & Hull, 3440 Oakcliff Road NE, Suite 110, Atlanta, GA 30340-3079. Telephone: (800) 241-4925. Web site: www.p-h.com.
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