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Unnecessary hospital readmissions can be avoided by a "whole-family" approach to discharge planning. Medicare requirements and The Joint Commission focus on evaluating and meeting the patient's needs, yet engagement and active participation of the family or lay caregivers also is central to improving the patient's transition from hospital to home.
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When a patient is admitted to the hospital with a chronic condition such as pain, one of the key elements of assessment is to determine what medications including prescriptions drugs and nonprescription medications and supplements the individual is taking. It is not uncommon for some patients, particularly older adults, to take 10 or more prescription medications a day.
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Instead of handing patients piles of papers during the discharge planning process, case managers and social workers at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ, simply refer them to the hospital's Valley C.A.R.E.S. web site, a resource with links to more than 2,000 agencies, facilities, organizations, and informational sites.
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Millions of Americans live with chronic conditions: diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, pain, and myriad other illnesses and injuries. When chronic conditions worsen or unrelated acute episodes occur, hospitalization may become necessary.
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Exposures to toxic alcohols such as methanol, ethylene glycol, and isopropanol have been reported in the medical literature for decades. These agents are found in a variety of household products, leading to accidental ingestion in the pediatric population and intentional ingestion in the adult population as a suicidal agent or as an inexpensive substitute for ethanol.
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Rosiglitazone (Avandia) implicated in yet another study; Prilosec and Nexium not associated with cardiac events; Anastrozole (Arimidex) shown more effective than tamoxifen for treatment of early-stage breast cancer; antibiotics show no effect on sinusitis; FDA actions.
