Discharge Planning
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Case Management Roles Must Evolve to Meet Future Needs
As the healthcare system undergoes tremendous changes and payers shift to reimbursement based on quality, case managers need to develop skills that go beyond day-to-day care coordination and getting patients ready for discharge.
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Patients Who Refuse Discharge Are ‘Disaster in the Making’
Patients refusing to leave the hospital for weeks, or even months — despite being medically cleared for discharge — are a growing problem, according to ethicists.
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ADT Nurses Can Help Ease Bed Constraints, Patient Volumes
Managing patient throughput can be one of the biggest challenges for nursing units, with patients often remaining in the ED because there are not enough beds available on the unit, or there are not enough nurses to care for all of the patients.
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Orientation and Delegation Are Key When Using Case Management Extenders
Hiring extenders can add much-needed clerical support to overworked case managers.
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Pilot Aims to Help Small Medical Practices Integrate Mental Healthcare
As part of its commitment to integrating behavioral care with medical care, Montefiore Health System has launched a pilot project to improve the ability of primary care physicians in small practices to treat anxiety, depression, and other common behavioral health problems.
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Virtual Psychiatric Consultations Shorten ED Wait Times
A telepsychiatry program that provides virtual psychiatric consultations to patients in 21 EDs in the Carolinas HealthCare System has reduced the ED length of stay for patients with behavioral health issues who have typically spent long periods of time waiting for behavioral health treatment and placement.
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Collaborative Care Combines Medical, Behavioral Health Treatment
Montefiore Health System’s collaborative care model integrates medical care with treatment for behavioral health issues that can be handled in a primary care setting.
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Healthcare Costs Reduced When Patients Have a Place to Live
By providing permanent housing for homeless patients with medical and behavioral health issues who are frequent ED utilizers, a pilot program at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health and Sciences System in Chicago has reduced healthcare costs by 27% for the 27 patients in the program.
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Integrated Care Begins in the ED
Unless ED staff are trained to recognize and respond to the underlying behavioral health issues that prompt some patients to show up frequently, the ED may become a revolving door for these patients.
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Don’t Just Send Patients Home if They Have a Mental Health Issue
When case managers encounter patients with behavioral health needs, they shouldn’t just send the patients home after their physical illness is treated.