Challenges with handling physician orders abound at most hospitals: Patients may show up without the order, leading to frustration all around and a wasted appointment time.
A beautifully designed, state-of-the art facility for imaging services is the centerpiece of a group of previously independent sites now being served by a new radiology call center.
About 110 uninsured patients a month are being referred from a Tucson, AZ, hospital emergency department to a nearby primary care and specialty center, the result of a collaborative aimed at finding the individuals an ongoing medical home.
Something that puzzles Patti Thrailkill, who spent more than 20 years working with the federal disability program, is why there isn't more energy at hospitals spent trying to get disability benefits for patients.
One U.S. health care system is ahead of the curve when it comes to dealing with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a difficult-to-treat strain of bacteria that is a significant cause of hospital-acquired infections.
Discharge planning for the high-risk "frail senior" population is difficult at best, says Barbara Leach, RNC, MS, CNA, ACM, director of case management, Sacramento/Solo, with the Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region.
Leveraging the resources of established call centers to serve the public in the event of a health emergency is one of the strategies proposed in a recent report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
Beginning Jan. 1, 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will require hospitals and other health care providers to use a National Provider Identifier when they bill Medicare fiscal intermediaries and Medicare administrative contractors, the agency said in a recent notice.
