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Its no secret that at some hospitals, relations between social workers and case managers are downright chilly if theres any relationship at all. But turf battles and resentment are not inevitable, as long as roles are clearly defined and the right case management model is in place.
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Do you staff your emergency department (ED) based solely on ratios? Do you use staffing productivity measures that only address paid nursing hours per patient visit? These methods are not effective in the ED and actually can endanger patients, warn staffing experts, who point to a growing trend toward state-mandated ratios for nursing staff.
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The 2002 version of the Little Rock, AR-based Case Management Society of Americas (CMSA) standards of practice is designed to reflect the role of the case manager in the changing health care system.
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The Oakbrook Terrace, IL-based Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is significantly revamping its accreditation process to answer its critics and sharpen the focus of its accreditation process.
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Advancing technology continues to reshape the way acute-care case management is practiced. One example of that is the growing trend toward automation. However, early experience shows that technology is no guarantee for physician buy-in at the front end, much less patient compliance at the back end.
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A "near-miss" in which a nurse at a Pennsylvania hospital incorrectly placed a "do not resuscitate" (DNR) wristband on a patient has prompted an Ohio initiative aimed at implementing statewide standardization of colored wristbands.
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It's common for case managers to say, "Oh, I wish I were a consultant." Yet, case managers already have jobs in which they do much of what a consultant does.
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A team approach to quality measures has resulted in a significant drop in ventilator-associated pneumonia for patients in the intensive care unit at Columbus Regional Hospital (IN) and helped the hospital earn the 2007 American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize.
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The adoption of the new MS-DRG system, coupled with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) move to cost-based relative weights is likely to have a significant financial impact on hospitals, says Deborah Hale, CSS, president of Administrative Consultant Services Inc., a health care consulting firm based in Shawnee, OK.
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Despite fears that issuing the new Important Message from Medicare regulations would result in a spate of patients appealing their discharge, hospital case managers report that appeals have not increased and that the requirement for issuing the notice within 48 hours of discharge actually helps staff focus on the discharge plan.