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A study evaluating the use of Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) in nursing homes found that patients with a POLST are less likely to receive unwanted hospitalization and medical interventions than patients without a POLST.
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A new compound similar to the active component of marijuana (cannabis) might provide effective pain relief without the mental and physical side effects of cannabis, according to a study in the July issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).
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The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) has created a new home health care committee called Medical Devices and Systems in Home Care Applications to tackle home health care issues, which complements the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) initiative.
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Husbands or wives who care for spouses with dementia are six times more likely to develop the memory-impairing condition than those whose spouses don't have it, according to the results of a 12-year study led by Johns Hopkins, Utah State University, and Duke University.
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About 4 million Americans undergo urinary catheterization annually, and more than 500,000 of these catheterizations involve indwelling catheters left in place for some period.
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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended that the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary conduct a study of home infusion therapy to evaluate potential program costs and savings, payment options, quality issues, and program integrity associated with a comprehensive benefit under Medicare. The differences between Medicare fee-for-service, Medicare Advantage, and commercial insurance coverage were examined in the GAO report.
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The Joint Commission (TJC) report on the top five most challenging requirements for home health care agencies shows that 28% of agencies surveyed for accreditation by TJC in 2009 were not compliant with the requirement to provide care in accordance with orders.
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Surveyors from The Joint Commission (TJC) look for a comprehensive, well-planned program to assess each patient's risk of falling, identify steps to reduce the risk, and ongoing evaluation of the patient's risk.
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As hospitals face cuts in reimbursement and patients who become insured under health care reform legislation seek care, moving patients safely and quickly through the continuum of care is going to become important, experts say.
