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With some complex tasks, it's often easier to break them down into more manageable parts, or to relate them to tasks we are more familiar with.
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Surrogate decision makers rated communication as good but could not answer questions about resuscitation status or the care their family member was receiving.
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As of early 2008, a minority (about 17%) of physicians have a basic or extensive electronic health record (EHR) system. Those who use electronic health records believe they improve the quality of care, and tend to be primary physicians, those practicing in large groups, hospitals, or medical centers, and those located in the western region of the United States.
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The atrial fibrillation and congestive heart Failure (AF-CHF) trial was designed to test the hypothesis that a treatment strategy that involved rhythm control would be superior to rate control in patients with heart failure and left ventricular systolic dysfunction.
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The findings of this retrospective study of 825 patients hospitalized with COPD exacerbations indicate that the use of beta blockers in such patients is not harmful and may actually be associated with reduced mortality.
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In this study, 750 severely ill patients requiring initial hemodialysis were randomized to receive either jugular or femoral vein catheterization. Jugular catheterization significantly increased the incidence of catheter colonization in patients with body mass index (BMI) < 24.2, whereas jugular catheterization decreased the incidence in patients with BMI > 28.4. Across all BMI strata, there was no significant difference in catheter-related blood stream infections in patients who underwent femoral vs jugular catheterization.
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According to the recently released report on the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) three-year demonstration program, RACs recouped $992.7 million in overpayments to providers, while $37.8 million in underpayments were repaid to providers.
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A creative approach to getting travel costs under control will mean an annual savings of least $50,000 for Alegent Health at Home in Omaha, NE. Moving to a fleet of agency-owned hybrid vehicles, the hospice and home health agency expects to save money previously reimbursed for employees' business travel costs.
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Hospices serving Medicare beneficiaries will see a 2.5% increase in their payments for 2009, according to a final regulation published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The increase in the hospice wage index is the net result of a 3.6% increase in the "market basket" indicator of cost, offset by a 1.1% decrease in payments to hospices as CMS phases out a transitional payment to these providers.
