Hospital Case Management – May 1, 2022
May 1, 2022
View Issues
More Patients Are Refusing Discharge
The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented bottlenecks in moving patients through the care continuum. But more patients are simply refusing to be discharged from hospital beds.Ethicist: Case Managers Can Fairly and Ethically Handle Patient Refusal to Discharge
In this Q&A, Trevor Bibler, PhD, MTS, assistant professor at the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine, explains the ethical dilemma of transitioning patients who refuse to leave the hospital.Discharge Waiting Room Gives Patients a Comfortable Place Between Bed and Home
A health system’s nurse case manager oversees a discharge waiting lobby that has helped shorten the time to discharge patients and frees beds for patients waiting in the ED. The discharge waiting lobby helps ease transitions during a difficult time for hospitals.
Heart Failure Treatment Can Increase Healthcare Expenses
Heart failure affects 6.2 million American adults and is implicated in more than 370,000 deaths each year. It costs the nation more than $30 billion a year, according to CDC data.By 2030, 8 billion people will be diagnosed with heart failure in the United States. The annual cost of caring for these patients is close to $30,000, mostly for inpatient care. The results of a recent review reveal the economic burden of heart failure for patients and the healthcare system is increasing due to high costs of hospitalization/rehospitalizations and chronic treatments.
Remote Monitoring Program Benefits Patients — but Not Without Some Barriers
A remote monitoring program for patients with COVID-19 worked, but was less successful for Black patients, according to the results of a recent study.Focus on Quintuple Aim to Address Workforce Burnout and Equity
If there is anything the COVID-19 crisis has shown healthcare leaders and case managers, it is the triple aim of focusing on improving population health, enhancing care experience, and reducing overall costs is not enough to improve value-based care. A quintuple aim of also prioritizing health equity and workforce wellness/burnout is needed. Both became crises during the pandemic.Integrating Behavioral Health and Medical Case Management
The effects of COVID-19 have brought behavioral health issues to light — and, in some cases, the handling of the pandemic has even caused behavioral health problems. With more patients presenting with mental and behavioral health issues, it is more important than ever to consider a collaborative model of care.Chatbots Can Help Care Managers Provide Ethical Treatment
There is no way around it — health systems are facing an ongoing shortage of clinicians to meet the needs of patients who require longitudinal care management. Chatbot technology turned out to be at least a partial solution to all these problems. The chatbots ask about the patient’s weight, blood pressure, and self-care behaviors.Missed Nursing Care and Declining Patient Safety
While the immediate effect of the COVID-19 omicron variant on the healthcare workforce is the pressing issue, there were serious concerns about staff shortages and the effect of “missed nursing care” on patients well before the pandemic.