Hospital Home Health Archives – March 1, 2005
March 1, 2005
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Technology and planning are basis for successful chronic care programs
This is the second of a two-part article addressing care of chronically ill patients. Last month, the programs implemented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to address high-cost and chronically ill patients were discussed. This month, strategies used by some agencies to provide more efficient, improved care to patients with chronic illnesses are examined. -
HIPAA Q&A
This column addresses specific questions related to implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. -
LegalEase: Enforcement of HIPAA privacy requirements
The deadline for compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy rule, April 14, 2003, came and went with little fanfare. What has happened since that date in terms of enforcement? -
Nurses say their smoking affects patient care
Nurses who smoke experience feelings of guilt and embarrassment, and also might be less likely to intercede with patients to encourage them to quit smoking because they feel to do so would be hypocritical. -
Give staff skills to teach low-literacy patients
During training sessions on how to more effectively teach patients with low-literacy skills, staff members at health care facilities mention several barriers, explains the director of AHEC Health Literacy Center at the University of New England in Biddeford, ME -
Teaching strategies for low health literacy learners
Practical tips from The Ohio State University AHEC Health Literacy Program in Columbus. -
Web sites and materials to support teaching
A number of excellent web sites are available to provide information to help health care organizations create systemwide initiatives for clear communication. The following are four examples. -
Medicare program reduces amputations and spending
An intensive face-to-face care management program for severely ill Medicare patients with advanced congestive heart failure and/or complex diabetes has paid off for XLHealth, a Baltimore-based disease management firm. -
News Briefs
The fixed performance areas for random, unannounced surveys of home care organizations by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in 2005 are: assessment and care/service, patient safety, information management, and the 2005 National Patient Safety Goals that are applicable to home care.