Outpatient Surgery
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System made changes to stop ‘no authorizations’
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare made changes to prevent clinically related denials.
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If they’re so difficult to reprocess, why are duodenoscopes approved for surgery?
With all of the difficulties in cleaning duodenoscopes, and the potential for outbreaks of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, some outpatient surgery managers are questioning why these scopes are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. However, the benefits outweigh the risks, some sources say.
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Culturing protocols devised for duodenoscopes to prevent CRE
Responding to a series of outbreaks of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) linked to duodenoscopes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed an interim protocol for culturing the devices before use to create a greater margin of safety for patients. But as others have noted, the approach is not foolproof and could be costly if facilities determine that they must purchase more scopes to adopt the protocol.
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$21.9 M award in elective steroid injection procedure
A 54-year-old woman suffered from chronic and severe back pain, and she underwent an elective epidural steroid injection. While sedated, the patient’s airway became blocked, which resulted in oxygen deprivation for as long as 10 minutes. Multiple electronic monitors indicated that the patient was not breathing properly, but the physician continued the procedure. Emergency assistance was not called for more than an hour, and the physician failed to report to a subsequent treating hospital that the patient was deprived of oxygen for several minutes. The patient suffered severe brain damage, and she died six years after the procedure from complications related to the brain injury. The jury awarded the widower and estate $21.9 million in damages.
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Education, follow-up reduce readmissions
A pilot project providing coaching and follow up for heart failure (HF) patients who are readmitted frequently resulted in a 50% drop in the readmission rate at Indiana University (IU) Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, IN. -
Communicating with patients encouraged
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has launched an initiative with the Ad Council to encourage clinicians and patients to engage in effective two-way communication to ensure safer care and better health outcomes. -
Palliative care comprehension
Patients and caregivers are not often familiar with palliative care, or they misunderstand its purpose. Therefore, education on the reasons to make use of a multidisciplinary palliative care team and the benefits provided is important. -
For healthy behavior change, take the message into the community
In September 2011, world leaders held the first General Assembly at the United Nations to address chronic disease, which caused an estimated 36 million deaths world wide in 2008. -
Relevant messages made relevant
To reach the public with education messages, avoid lectures, says Barbara B. Mintz, MS, RD, assistant vice president of wellness at Newark (NJ) Beth Israel Medical Center. -
There is no need to reinvent the wheel
Technology is beneficial to people designing programs to impact the health behaviors of their patient population base, says Jason L. Bittle, community health improvement coordinator at Hanover (PA) Hospital Wellness and Education Center.