-
After the University of California San Francisco Medical Center began a heart failure readmission reduction program at its 559-bed main hospital, 30-day readmission rates for heart failure patients dropped 46%, from 24% in 2009 to 13% in 2011 and 11% in 2012.
-
-
A program at the University of Michigan Health System in which physicians and nurse practitioners visit patients after their transfer to a skilled nursing facility has smoothed transitions and reduced the average length of stay of older patients from 10.6 days to eight days.
-
Beginning Oct. 1, 2012, more than 2,000 hospitals serving Medicare patients began losing reimbursement under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) readmission reduction program, which penalizes hospitals experiencing excess 30-day readmissions for heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and pneumonia. The average penalty is about $125,000.
-
Bassett Medical Centers readmission reduction project has resulted in a reduction of up to 70% among highest-risk patients.
-
The relief of suffering, including suffering from untreated pain, is fundamental to the idea of ethical practice in medicine, according to Nancy Berlinger, PhD, a research scholar at The Hastings Center in Garrison, NY.
-
Would you expect that offering state tax incentives or credits would increase organ donation?
-
A growing number of states are promoting Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Paradigm Programs, with the goal of helping physicians to better respect their patients wishes for end-of-life care.
-
Most emergency physicians (EPs) would never consider leaving a patients chart completely blank, as theyre well aware of the resulting liability risks, but caring for an ED colleague without documentation is no different, according to Martin Ogle, MD, FACEP, senior partner and vice president of CEP America, an Emeryville, CA-based provider of acute care staffing solutions.
-
Is a parent refusing recommended care for a minor patient in the ED?