"Safety culture" has been an important buzzword in occupational health for many years.
Here's another reason to emphasize influenza vaccination in long-term care: Last year, vaccination prevented an estimated 44,000 flu-related hospitalizations among older people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As attention focuses on preventing readmissions, hospitals must improve their internal processes and forge relationships with post-acute providers.
Duke Raleigh Hospital participates in a community-wide collaborative of hospitals and post-acute providers but also has developed close relationships with individual skilled nursing facilities.
As we have discussed in prior months, hospitals that are participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs meaning that they receive reimbursement from Medicare and/or Medicaid are required to participate in Medicare's "Conditions of Participation" (CoP).
Case managers and social workers have to look for creative solutions as hospitals struggle with finding a safe discharge for uninsured, undocumented, and homeless patients.
Florida Hospital East Orlando has developed a transitional care program for uninsured patients to coordinate their healthcare needs as they move from the hospital to home.
By making personalized recorded discharge information and educational videos available to patients by telephone or computer, Cullman (AL) Regional Hospital has reduced 30-day readmissions by 15% and increased scores on the discharge section of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) by 63%
A predictable, yet perhaps unwanted, change went into effect on Oct. 1, 2013.
