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Legislation enacted a decade ago to strengthen rural health care by encouraging states to take steps to bolster rural health networks resulted in adding another tool to the discharge planning toolbox – the critical access hospital (CAH).
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In four short years, the number of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) that are subject to the post-acute-care transfer definition ("transfer DRGs") has mushroomed from 30 to 273, exponentially increasing the impact that incorrect assignment can have on a hospital's Medicare reimbursements.
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When predicting, for purposes of a discharge plan, a stroke patient's post-hospital mobility needs, you should take a close look at how well the patient was getting around before the stroke, an international research group reports.
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed changes that would update payment policies and rates under the hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) for fiscal year 2009, cutting payments for hospital-acquired conditions or medical errors and giving hospitals financial incentives to meet quality criteria.
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It's a fine line walked during discharge education marrying content with effectiveness of delivery, about which researcher Marianne Weiss, DNSc, comments, "A little key content delivered effectively is better than gallons of knowledge delivered in a way that overwhelms."
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When a patient discharged on a Friday is back in the hospital the following Monday, there can be many reasons. A few years ago, Boston Medical Center took on a project aimed at finding out whether discharge processes contributed to adverse events and rehospitalizations, and whether something could be done to turn that around.
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Euthyroid sick syndrome is a reversible abnormality of thyroid function tests in the presence of an acute or chronic nonthyroidal illness (NTI) or an altered physiologic state such as starvation.
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When it comes to administering the vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV), providers are following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' recommendation to target all girls ages 11-12 for routine vaccination.
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The woman in your exam room says she has severe headaches that usually begin about two days before her menstrual cycle. When they occur, they get more severe in intensity. She does not report any signs of neurological aura, such as flashing lights or tingling sensations, with the headaches. What's your diagnosis?
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When it comes to emergency contraception (EC), what does your clinic offer? A new review has found that mifepristone is the most effective EC method to prevent unwanted pregnancy; however, the drug has not gained U.S. regulatory approval for that use.
