Hospital Home Health Archives – June 1, 2008
June 1, 2008
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Technology study shows growing use, increased satisfaction with telehealth
More than 88% of home care telehealth providers report that the service has produced an increase in quality outcomes for their agencies by reducing hospitalizations and emergency department visits. -
Stats give clear picture of telehealth use
The 117-page report on the Philips National Study on the Future of Technology and Telehealth in Home Care includes a wide range of information on different technologies used by the almost 1,000 home health agencies that participated in the survey, but the greatest amount of information focuses upon telehealth. -
Nurses' bags play key role in infection control
Wash hands, wear gloves, and clean equipment. All home health nurses know that these are the basic steps to take to protect patients from infection. What about the nurses' bag? How clean is it and does it pose an infection threat? -
Hospices hit Medicare cap, legislation for moratorium
Legislation introduced by Oklahoma lawmakers U.S. Sen. James Inhofe and U.S. Rep. John Sullivan calls for a three-year moratorium on efforts by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to collect overpayments for hospice patient care. -
Trends help hospice managers avoid the cap
Every hospice is different with varying populations to serve, but an analysis of the reasons that 40% of the 99 hospices in Oklahoma served by Palmetto Government Benefit Administrators (GBA), a Medicare fiscal intermediary, hit the hospice cap shows four predominant reasons, says Greg Wood, LBSW, executive director of the Hospice of North Central Oklahoma in Ponca City and president of the Oklahoma Hospice Association: -
Don't put up roadblocks when callers want info
"I just have a few questions." "I'm calling to get some information." "I don't need an appointment now. I'm just making a call for a family member." -
Nurses learn to 'speak the language of ethics'
Some of the language of ethics doesn't come naturally to nurses, according to a nurse-ethicist. But an initiative by Indianapolis-based Clarian Health aims to make ethics training and discussion second nature to the 5,000 nurses working there. -
News Briefs
When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) granted The Joint Commis-sion's deeming authority for another six years, some news reports pointed to a change in the way in which supplemental findings are handled as detrimental to a home care organization's ability to achieve accreditation. -
Report shows satisfaction with home care increasing
More than 210,000 patients treated by 541 home health agencies nationwide provided the data included in the 2008 Home Care Pulse Report: Patient Perspectives on American Health Care.