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This is a two-part series on patient identification processes used by patient access departments. Inside, we cover processes used to verify a patient's identity, the expected impact of healthcare reform, and how to involve patients in the process. Next month, we'll report on new biometric technology being implemented by a growing number of hospitals.
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The clinician has just reviewed instructions on proper oral contraceptive (OC) use with the patient, a 22-year-old mother of three. He asks if there any questions and sends her to the front desk with a supply of pill packs and written instructions. But how does he know she received the information she needs to take her pills properly?
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At St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, CT, the prenatal education tries to deliver "consistent and positive messages about breastfeeding," says Laurie Mastrone, RNC, IBCLC, a lactation consultant.
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In response to the surgeon general's "Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding," in last month's issue we covered best practice for initiating breastfeeding after birth, writing policy for education, and follow-up education after discharge. This month, we discuss prenatal breastfeeding education and what to cover in the curriculum.
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While electronic readers seem to be an innovative way to educate patients, the fact that they are new means there will be problems to address when implementing them.
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What content should go on electronic readers, such as iPads and Nooks, purchased for use in community health libraries and facility-based resource centers?
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Smartphone users are beginning to use a device called a "barcode scanner" that allows them to open Quick Response (QR) codes. These codes are found on a multitude of items including magazine ads, signs, business cards, and museum graphics, says Fran London, MS, RN, a health education specialist at The Emily Center, a family health library at Phoenix (AZ) Children's Hospital.
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How can clinicians bolster patients' understanding of correct oral contraceptive use after they leave the office? Try these tips from the On the Same Page OCP Health Literacy Project Training Manual:
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Paid caregivers make it possible for seniors to remain living in their homes. The problem, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study, is that more than one-third of caregivers had difficulty reading and understanding health-related information and directions. Sixty percent made errors when sorting medications into pillboxes.
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Patient and family resource centers might be a logical setting for such electronic devices as the Apple iPad or Nook electronic reader.
