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Headache is a common chief complaint encountered by emergency physicians (EPs). It may be a symptom of benign diseases such as migraine headaches or a common virus. Unfortunately, it also may represent other, more life-threatening illnesses, including subarachnoid hemorrhage. Delineating which patients need radiologic imaging, spinal fluid testing, and even angiography is part of the challenge encountered by the EP. This issue will outline strategies for reducing risk in the headache patient. Specifically, diagnosis and management of subarachniod hemorrhage will be detailed.
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The following is the first of a two-part series on the Government Accountability Offices (GAO) recent report on the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).
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In 1997, the emergency department (ED) at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, IN, was in the 45th percentile in South Bend, IN-based Press Ganey Associates satisfaction rankings. That same year, Southern Ohio Medical Center in Portsmouth, languished in the ninth percentile.
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Do you want to increase satisfaction scores, improve patient care, and boost staff retention all in one shot? Consider switching to a team model of nursing.
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Documentation requirements for every patient encounter have increased, leaving less time for the actual practice of medicine. While documentation is a burden to physicians and nurses, it does have unlimited value. Documentation allows for appropriate billing for the time and efforts of the physician, nurse, and other medical specialists. Thorough documentation allows for maximum reimbursement without fear of subsequent legal retribution from various government programs. Furthermore, the medical record is an essential historical document of the patients previous medical encounters. Documentation of the patient encounter and treatment will provide a defense to potential subsequent litigation that may ensue. The emergency physician may be unaware that a medical expert is reading a case of a previous patient encounter right now. The documentation of the care provided may preclude the plaintiffs expert from making assumptions and opinions adverse to the physician. This months issue will detail the importance of documentation and outline strategies for reducing risk.
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Higher patient copays and increasing numbers of people who are working but not insured have made the management of self-pay accounts a more crucial issue than ever for most of the nations hospitals.
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A new registration report card at Childrens Health Care of Atlanta provides access managers with key information on the performance of individual employees in a convenient, easy to read format.
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You dont always know which experiences might prove beneficial when it comes to building a successful career in access services.
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If you were expecting cookie-cutter questions followed by rote responses during your next survey from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, think again. Instead, surveyors will arrive armed with detailed information that puts a spotlight on your biggest problem areas, according to accreditation experts interviewed by Hospital Peer Review.
