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Interdisciplinary Walking Rounds: A Key Strategy for Improving Case Management Outcomes – Part 2
In last month’s edition of Case Management Insider, we began exploring the evolving world of interdisciplinary care rounds. “State of the art,” as defined by The Joint Commission and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, is to have some form of bedside or walking rounds.
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Justifying short inpatient stays just got easier — or did it?
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has modified the controversial two-midnight rule to allow shorter stays to be billed as inpatient stays based on the physician’s judgment, but the change means that complete documentation is more important than ever before.
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Talk to each other to improve patient care, reduce readmissions
When hospital staff start examining the reasons patients are being readmitted, the famous line from the movie Cool Hand Luke may come to mind: “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.”
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Families say nursing care is key support for end-of-life care
Vigilance in the provision of nursing care, communication of even slight changes in the patient’s condition, and validation of the family’s decision-making increase family members’ comfort during the dying process, a recent qualitative study suggests.
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New guidance on palliative care delivery in oncology practices
A new guidance statement to define high-quality primary palliative care delivery in medical oncology has been developed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
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Many academics on industry boards: Conflicts of interest are ethical concern
Academics from medical schools and research institutions hold nearly 10% of positions on boards of directors at publicly traded healthcare companies, according to a recent study.
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“Instant access” culture driving trend toward at-home testing
Ethical issues involving at-home self-testing include patient autonomy, the fact that knowledgeable providers aren’t interpreting findings, and the possibility of false or misleading results.
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Did ethics consults occur too late? Reluctant clinicians are one reason
Ethics consults often are called only after the patient lacks decision-making capacity and death is inevitable despite aggressive treatment.
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Greater palliative care knowledge in nursing homes linked to less aggressive end-of-life care
The more nursing directors knew about palliative care, the less likely their patients experienced feeding tube insertion, injections, restraints, suctioning, and emergency department visits, according to a recent study.
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Physicians work when ill, even with confirmed flu
Driven by a traditional work culture that underscores their responsibility to patients and commitment to coworkers, physicians will show up for work symptomatic and sick, even if they have laboratory-confirmed influenza, researchers reported recently in San Diego at the 2015 IDWeek conference.1