Hospital Case Management – September 1, 2007
September 1, 2007
View Issues
-
As reimbursement shifts, efficient patient throughput becomes critical
With Medicare's stricter reimbursement guidelines and the likelihood that commercial payers will follow suit, it's more important than ever before for patients to move as quickly and safely as possible through the continuum of care, the experts say. -
CMs' role in patient throughput initiatives
Case managers play a critical role in patient throughput and their voices should be heard whenever hospital staff meet to discuss barriers to admission and discharge and how they can be eliminated, says Charlotte Thompson, RRT, BA, MBA, manager in KPMG LLP's health care advisory practice. -
Dry-erase board improves communication, discharge
A simple communication tool used by case management and nursing has decreased the turnaround between when discharge orders are issued and the time the patient is out the door at North Broward Medical Center in Deerfield Beach, FL. -
Critical Path Network: Persistence pays off when placing difficult patients
It took more than 260 days, hundreds of hours on the telephone, and a lot of networking and brainstorming for Chesapeake General Hospital in Chesapeake, VA, to find post-acute care for a seriously ill pediatric patient. -
Critical Path Network: CMs take lead in discharge improvement initiatives
At Ingham Regional Medical Center in Lansing, MI, case managers take the lead in a multidisciplinary effort to increase the number of patients who are discharged by noon. -
Guest Column: Reduce your hospital's preventable readmissions
Reducing readmissions has become an increasingly important goal for hospitals. Medicare is evaluating various payment incentives to encourage lower rates of preventable readmissions. -
Ambulatory Care Quarterly: Respiratory section added to Standard Precautions
Under updated infection control guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Standard Precautions now include respiratory/cough etiquette instructions.