Hospital Home Health Archives – September 1, 2009
September 1, 2009
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Diagnose depression early to improve outcomes, reduce costs
Home health nurses know that depression affects every aspect of a patient's health care and potential outcome, but according to a recent study, depression also affects the total cost of health care services for the depressed patient. -
Expertise offered for mental illness as primary diagnosis
The nurses and social workers in the mental health home care program offered by Visiting Nurse Services in Westchester in White Plains, NY, do serve as clinical expert resources for staff members of the medical home health side of the agency, but they also offer home care services to patients whose primary diagnosis is a mental health illness. -
How to recognize a depressed patient
Assessing depression in an older home care patient is not an easy task. -
Turn satisfied physicians into loyal physicians
"I don't like to refer patients to home health. Home health agencies don't do what I want, then they do what I don't want for too long." -
Lack of compliance may mean patients misunderstand
If your patients aren't following their treatment plan, it may not be that they are non-adherent. It could be that they simply do not understand what they are expected to do. -
Program addresses health care literacy
Recognizing that low health literacy has a dramatic effect on patient outcomes and the cost of care, the AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies has launched a program to make sure its members understand their treatment plans. -
Helping the medically frail stay safe at home
For some patients Sally Neff, RN, BSN, sees, something as simple as calling their physician for an appointment presents challenges they can't overcome. -
News Briefs
A report on the growth and earnings of nurses from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook: 2009-2009 Edition reports the number of registered nurses employed in the United States in 2016 is expected to be 3,092,000 in 2016. This represents a 23% increase over the 2006 employment number of 2,505,000. -
Extra diagnostic testing can cost hospitals big
Hospitals are losing large amounts of money on extra and inappropriate diagnostic testing and procedures, as well as outpatient procedures performed in the inpatient setting because third-party payers frequently are denying the claims, says Brenda Keeling, RN, CPHQ, CPUR, of Patient Response, a Milburn, OK, health care consulting firm.