-
-
-
Debate over the cardiovascular effects of COX-2 inhibitors has raged for more than a year since a special communication was published in JAMA last August suggesting an increase in cardiovascular events with rofecoxib (Vioxx). Now a large retrospect, the cohort study from the Tennessee Medicaid program seems to confirm the prothrombotic effects of rofecoxib, at least in high dose.
-
-
Opioid use for patients with advanced illness has been the focus of controversy and misconceptions, even among health care practitioners, an expert notes.
-
Designating a staff member as the "coding expert" for your agency is one way to ensure accurate reimbursement; but the person does not have to be a certified coder to help your agency understand the myriad codes and guidelines.
-
Patients' right to freedom of choice of providers has been a source of continuing conflict, especially between hospitals and post-acute providers not owned by or affiliated with hospitals -- so-called freestanding providers.
-
It's been 20 years since Springfield, MO, Medical Centers Hospice Program became the first U.S. prison hospice program, and now there are more than 70 hospice programs within state and federal prisons.
-
In at least one way, the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, LA, is an ideal setting for a hospice: It's an encapsulated village in which 90 percent of its residents will die within its walls and fences.
-
With an average of 300 new codes, and the development of guidelines that change the way old codes are applied each year, it is critical that your agency keep staff members up to date on coding requirements to ensure that you receive the highest appropriate reimbursement, say experts interviewed.
