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Nearly half of all American adults 90 million people have difficulty understanding and using health information, and there is a higher rate of hospitalization and use of emergency services among patients with such limited health literacy, states a report released April 8 by the Institute of Medicine (IOM).
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Documentation is becoming a routine part of patient education in inpatient settings. However, many health care providers have not yet formed this good habit in outpatient areas. Proper documentation establishes a paper trail showing that education took place. This is important for the legal department should litigation occur.
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Terry Chase, ND, RN, patient and family education program coordinator at Craig Hospital in Englewood, CO, received her nursing degree in 1996. She had been teaching in public schools for ten years, but her experience as a patient following a spinal cord injury prompted her to change careers.
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Alleviate burden by focusing on patients wishes. Recent studies in intensive care units have found that critical care specialists often try to base decisions about withdrawal of advanced life support measures on their perception of the patients wishes and the likelihood of survival in the ICU.
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Since 1985, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) has provided patients with care regardless of their ability to pay. Horror stories of the dumping of indigent trauma patients prompted federal intervention and subsequent regulation to protect patients. It has been both a blessing and burden for emergency physicians.
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