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Two new auditing processes and a script for "introducing" discharge planners to their patients are the latest innovations at Stevens Hospital in Edmunds, WA, part of its response to the revised "Important Message from Medicare" (IM).
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At California Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles "we never want [staff] to say, 'We do not have any beds,'" says Elizabeth Oliver, director for access care for the facility, which is part of Catholic Healthcare West (CHW).
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In the first year of Saint Luke Hospital's initiative to improve throughput for long-stay patients, the length of stay for those patients dropped by 0.5 days and the number of avoidable days dropped from 160 in 2006 to 90 in 2007.
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At the end of a project to improve throughput in the emergency department, the length of stay for patients with low-risk chest pain dropped from an average of more than 30 hours to an average of between 20 and 24 hours at two hospitals in the Sharp HealthCare system.
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A fee schedule change affecting payment for ground ambulance charges under Section 414 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003 provides increased payments for urban and rural services, adds an increased payment for ambulance transports originating in certain low-density population areas, and provides a 25% bonus on the mileage rate for ground transports of 51 miles or greater.
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There has been recent emphasis in cardiology literature highlighting the importance of recognizing a new sub-specialty within the field, aimed at treating adult patients who have survived after having congenital heart disease repair.
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Americans use many medications for countless medical conditions, spending about $100 billion annually. Unfortunately, partly because we use so many medications, medication error has become an important medical topic in the 21st century.