Employee Management
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Staggering COVID-19 Mortality Rates During Pregnancy
Pregnant women, some of them healthcare workers, are dying at high rates after contracting COVID-19. The COVID-19 vaccine risk is unknown because pregnant women were not included in early clinical trials. However, the emerging data on the threat of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy is tilting the risk-benefit equation.
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No One Really Knows How Many HCWs Have Died of COVID-19
While healthcare workers literally bear witness to death, who tolls the bell for them? There is no official count for healthcare workers who have died of COVID-19. Ask how many of these heroes have put their lives on the line and lost them in the process, and one enters a maze of incomplete reports collected from limited jurisdictions, mixed with extrapolations and models confounded with variables.
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The Basic Elements of Healthcare Reimbursement, Part 3
In this month’s issue, the conversation on healthcare reimbursement turns to the additional prospective payment systems found across the continuum of care. Prospective payment remains a way in which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services can determine the rates for care based on predetermined amounts rather than on billing. The processes are similar to the use of the diagnosis-related groups in the acute care setting, with some differences.
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Leaders Plot How They Will Leverage the Lessons of COVID-19
While healthcare leaders continue to battle a global pandemic, many also are plotting how they will use the lessons of this emergency to make their health systems better. Several shared their ideas during the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s annual forum.
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Opioid Use and the Role of the Case Manager
Regardless of whether they know it, many case managers are faced with patients and clients each day who are struggling with opioid use disorder (OUD). As rates of OUD continue to increase, it is essential for case managers to hone their skills of confidently recognizing and addressing the disorder.
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Occupational Therapy and Hospital Readmissions
Occupational therapy is a bit like case management. In both vocations, the greater healthcare community (and population in general) is not entirely familiar with their purpose. Both positions often are all-encompassing, diverse, and necessary as they consider the whole person. Both occupational therapists and case managers often play a role in helping control hospital spending.
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Care Transition Program Shows Success with Long-Term Outcomes
A hospital’s Care Transitions Clinical Coordinators program provides patients and caregivers with care transition support. The program focuses on assessment and identification of the root cause of readmission, as well as other key interventions.
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Discharge Algorithm Improves Transitions, Results
Decision support technology can help case managers improve transitions of care and more easily access patient information necessary for an optimal discharge. The algorithm can collect data on patients’ functional status, cognition, caregiver status, and other important characteristics.
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Hospital-SNF Partnership Brings Better Care for Complex Patients
Coordinating post-acute services for patients has been an ongoing challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic. One solution is for hospitals to form partnerships with local skilled nursing facilities. These partnerships can help hospitals find adequate care for complex patients. Hospital case managers and other staff can help the skilled nursing facility with difficult problem-solving and care coordination.
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Help Physicians, Nurses Overcome Fear of Seeking Assistance for Stress Relief
Stress has long been a serious problem for physicians and nurses, but the added burden of COVID-19 is bringing attention to a particular challenge: All too often, clinicians are reluctant to seek the support of their employee assistance programs and other mental health resources available to them. A primary reason they avoid seeking help is that they fear they will face negative repercussions at work, even losing their jobs, according to recent research.