Hospital Management
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International Discharges Create Chaos and Inspire Creativity for Case Managers
Case managers and discharge planners in every state sometimes encounter the most challenging and frustrating of cases: the international discharge. Hospital Case Management asked Judith R. Sands, RN, MSL, BSN, CPHRM, CPHQ, CCM, ARM, a clinical consultant and author of Home Hospice Navigation: The Caregiver’s Guide, to answer a few questions about best practices in handling these unique care transition cases.
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Stroke Patient Navigator Prevents 30-Day Readmissions
A stroke nurse navigator team can prevent 30-day readmissions in stroke patients treated with thrombolysis, investigators found. A health system’s 30-day readmission rate was 13.6% before it began to use a stroke nurse navigator. The rate declined to 6.9%. Patients with the stroke nurse implementation were 67.6% less likely to be readmitted within 30 days compared to patients without the navigator.
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How Case Managers Can Help Victims of Trafficking
Case managers can learn skills and tactics for helping patients who have been trafficked. For example, investigators used an online training module to educate ED staff about human trafficking. Participants reported more confidence in identifying a possible human trafficking victim, noting they were more likely to screen patients for human trafficking.
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Screening and Documenting Cases of Human Trafficking Are Important, But Carry Risks
Human trafficking is a critical issue from a public health perspective. It has lasting psychological and physical effects on victims. There is too little information about how prevalent human trafficking is in the United States and how often the victims are seen in healthcare settings. Case managers, hospitals, and ambulatory providers could improve the data by documenting suspected or confirmed human trafficking cases via Z codes.
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Case Managers Could Use Z Codes More for Patient Care and QI
Case managers, providers, and health systems underuse ICD-10 Z codes eight years after they were introduced. These codes could provide a wealth of data to researchers and case management quality improvement projects. They still hold promise to be a way for providers to collect reimbursement for their work to help patients with their social determinants of health.
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Multidisciplinary Initiative Leads to More Referrals, Donors, and Transplanted Organs
Staff training and more visible public awareness helped a Georgia hospital make tremendous improvements.
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For Some Ethics Programs, ‘Tele-ethics’ Is Routine
Sustainable development of virtual consultation platforms, funding, training of ethics consultants, and visibility of virtual clinical ethics consultation are priorities.
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Medical Malpractice Action Failed When Expert Testimony Did Not Comply with Statute
This ruling is a reminder of the crucial importance of consulting with counsel and investigating statutory requirements when selecting an expert witness who is not in the same profession as the defendant.
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Failure to Inspect Patient After Cesarean Section Leads to Cardiac Arrests and Hysterectomy, $8 Million Award
This case serves as a stark reminder to medical professionals about the critical importance of closely monitoring patients after surgery and preparing to intervene promptly if complications arise. The incident underscores the significance of knowing the risks and potential complications associated with emergency cesarean sections.
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Study Shows Importance of Effective Medication Reconciliation
A recent study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston illustrates some of the best tactics hospitals can use for improving medication reconciliation. The first lesson from the study is the importance of taking the best possible medication history in the ED before the patient is admitted.