Hospital Home Health Archives – February 1, 2005
February 1, 2005
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CMS programs tackle the chronic care costs of Medicare patients
This is the first of a two-part article that looks at care of chronically ill patients. This month we discuss the programs implemented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to address high-cost and chronically ill patients. Next month, we examine strategies used by some agencies to provide more efficient, improved care to patients with chronic illnesses. -
Nine programs will test chronic care intervention
The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 authorized development and testing of voluntary Chronic Care Improvement Programs to improve the quality of care and quality of life for people living with multiple chronic illnesses. -
HIPAA Q&A
This column addresses specific questions related to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) implementation. -
LegalEase: Know how to avoid gaming the system
Routine compliance activities in home health agencies now include verification of data, pre-billing reviews, reviews to identify inconsistencies, etc. Providers must recognize that there are limits on appropriate activities in this regard. It may be fair to say that there is sometimes a very fine line between a legitimate compliance activity and what constitutes gaming the system which is clearly unacceptable. -
Work environment may hasten nurse retirement
Work stress and dissatisfaction with the work environment may hasten the retirement of aging nurses, according to a study by the Center for American Nurses, an Austin, TX-based affiliate of the American Nurses Association. -
Communication is key to client satisfaction
Everyone who works in health care has a list of ideas for what needs to be done to improve client satisfaction, but one theme appears to be a common thread throughout: communication. -
AHRQ tool measures patient safety skills
Patient safety is on everyones minds these days, but how do you know how well your organization already is doing on this topic? -
Public reports on quality measures to increase
Public reporting of quality measures is likely to increase in the near future, and hospitals should get ready, asserts the director of collaborative services and CEO work groups for clinical excellence with VHA Inc., an Irving, TX-based health care cooperative. -
News Briefs
Flu activity has risen steadily in the United States since mid-December and does not appear to have peaked, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.