Case Management Advisor – November 1, 2011
November 1, 2011
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Medicaid patients may need extra help to obtain their care
Managing the care of Medicaid members and ensuring that they obtain the services they need is always a challenge, case managers report. -
Heart failure program cuts readmissions
In the first 10 months of the Heart Failure Transition Care Program at Tucson, AZ-based Carondelet Health Network, case managers, called nurse partners, prevented hospital readmissions 14 times while managing the care of 62 high-risk patients. -
Health plan cuts ED as primary care
An initiative to cut down on the use of the emergency department (ED) for non-emergent care by educating patients on more appropriate levels of care resulted in an 11.5% decline in ED use in three years by members covered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, with headquarters in Jacksonville. -
Some cancer patients diagnosed earlier
Women with a deleterious gene mutation are diagnosed with breast cancer almost eight years earlier than relatives of the previous generation who also had the disease and/or ovarian cancer, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. -
Chemo is as effective before and after
Whether chemotherapy is given before or after breast-conserving therapy (BCT) does not have an impact on long-term local-regional outcomes, suggesting treatment success is due more to biologic factors than chemotherapy timing, according to a study1 by researchers at The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. -
Trial gives thought to using stents
Patients at high risk for a second stroke had a lower risk of stroke and death when treated with aggressive medical therapy than patients who received a brain stent in addition to aggressive medical therapy, according to a nationwide clinical trial that included specialists in Stony Brook University School of Medicine's Departments of Neurology and Neurological Surgery, Stony Brook, NY. -
Are written materials easily accessible?
Making written handouts readily available to clinicians interacting with patients is an important element of patient education.