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Public reporting of quality measures is likely to increase in the near future, and hospitals should get ready, asserts Carolyn Scott, director of collaborative services and CEO work groups for clinical excellence with VHA Inc., an Irving, TX-based health care cooperative.
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Redesigning the care management model and creating a resource center to free the clinical staff from clerical work has resulted in decreases in length of stay and helped drop denials for clinical reasons to zero at St. Vincents Medical Center in Jacksonville, FL.
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More education for physicians and research into pain management strategies appropriate to the emergency setting are needed to ensure appropriate care in the emergency department (ED), new research indicates. Two upcoming studies published in the April issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine reveal that ED physicians prescribing practices vary widely even when the clinical scenarios are the same.
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Last years worldwide outbreak of a deadly new virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), made health systems around the world re-examine their preparedness to deal with a sudden epidemic of infectious disease. But in addition to designing new methods for detecting outbreaks and improving measures to prevent spread, health care providers again must look at the complex ethical issues that epidemics pose to society, experts say.
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The current lack of oversight for assisted reproductive technology (ART) and human embryo research is compromising the future of children created using ART as well as hindering the progress of research into new and innovative treatments for diseases and conditions, a new report from the Presidents Council on Bioethics indicates.
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Although the most common reasons for hospitalization among HIV patients in six hospitals nationwide are for comorbidities, there remains a significant rate of hospitalization for opportunistic infections (OIs), a new study says.
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As employers look at ways to deal with escalating health care costs, case managers likely will find themselves playing key roles. They will not, however, be the only ones in the game. Case managers complement disease managers as the two roles become integrated for more powerful care coordination.
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As part of its efforts to promote preventive care and appropriate management of chronic diseases, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida has begun the Recognizing Physician Excellence (RPE) program, which will reward physicians based on several criteria, including patient satisfaction, clinical quality and efficiency, and administrative efficiency.
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A Harvard Medical School study has found that current practice management strategies and financial arrangements have a limited impact on the quality of care for patients with diabetes.
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For as long as humans have been taking care of other humans who are sick or hurt, the rendering of solace and physical comfort has been the core from which all other types of aid have grown. But a nurse and ethicist in California says that ignoring the value of giving of solace and comfort amounts to turning away from the prime reason for the practice of medicine.
