Hospital Case Management – February 1, 2010
February 1, 2010
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Special: Avoiding penalties for readmissions
Case managers are a hospital's first line of defense when it comes to smoothing transitions of care and preventing readmissions. -
Scrutinize your readmissions and take steps to avoid them
If you haven't started analyzing your hospital's readmission rates and the role case managers can play in reducing readmissions, it's time to start so your hospital can avoid penalties from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). -
Look beyond hospital walls to avoid readmissions
Case managers typically have concentrated on what has to happen before the patient can be discharged from the hospital, but now, to reduce readmissions, hospitals also have to take into consideration what happens to patients after they leave the acute care setting, says Beverly Cunningham, RN, MS, vice president, clinical performance improvement, Medical City Dallas Hospital, and health care consultant and partner in Case Management Concepts LLC. -
Home care nurses help patients avoid readmission
In an effort to ensure that the patients most vulnerable for readmission stay safe at home after discharge, Lutheran Medical Center is developing a pilot program with a local home care agency to provide at least one home care visit for the majority of congestive heart failure patients going home with no services. -
Critical Path Network: CM redesign reduces LOS, increases case mix index
By redesigning its case management program and beefing up technology, Saint Thomas Health Services reduced the average length of stay systemwide by 0.20 days and saved more than $6 million in just two years. -
Critical Path Network: Triad model of CM improves patient flow
In preparation for the Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) and to improve patient flow, Durham Regional Hospital redesigned its case management department and moved to a triad model of patient care. -
Critical Path Network: Innovative thinking helps CMs prepare for RACs
As part of the ongoing education to prepare for Medicare's Recovery Audit Contractors (RAC) program, Cynthia Lawson, RN-BC, MBA, CPHQ, director of case management at North Hills (TX) Hospital is teaching her case management staff to think innovatively when reviewing charts. -
Critical Path Network: These strategies can pave the way to a clean claim
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