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Pitolisant Tablets (Wakix)

Pitolisant should be prescribed to treat excessive daytime sleepiness in adult patients with narcolepsy.

When Did You Last Take an Antibiotic?

Approximately half of U.S. residents with health insurance filled an antibiotic prescription over a two-year period.

Risk of Neuropathy With Fluoroquinolones

As a class, fluoroquinolones are some of the most commonly used antibiotics worldwide. Their use carries a significant risk of neurotoxicity, for both the peripheral and central nervous system.

Neuropathy After Total Knee Arthroplasty

In a large series of cases from the Mayo Clinic, 54 cases of new neuropathy occurred in 14,450 total knee arthroplasties. Most were isolated peroneal neuropathies. No specific risk factors were identified.

NOACs vs. Warfarin: What Are the Data in Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury and Intracranial Hemorrhage?

A three-year analysis of a prospectively maintained database with traumatic brain injury patients revealed that novel oral anticoagulant use is associated with increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage progression, neurosurgical intervention, and mortality.

How to Find the Ideal Case Management Staffing Level

No matter what size a hospital and case management department are, there are difficulties in finding the right level of staffing. There is no one-size-fits-all approach because each hospital has its own expectations and sensitive situations in which case management might be needed. The goal should be to have case managers work to the full capacity of their skills and abilities.

ED Case Managers Can Help Improve Transitions and Outcomes

Case managers in the ED can perform more than utilization reviews. In a newer model for their role, case managers can help put ED patients in touch with resources, helping them avoid readmissions and improve outcomes. Cleveland Clinic realized that with the changing landscape of healthcare, there is a way care management can put patients in touch with the community services they need to stay out of the hospital and ED. Case managers based in the ED can help patients with whatever they will need when they are well enough to leave.

Case Management Dashboard Can Improve Patient Outcomes

Hospitals and other healthcare organizations can improve patient navigation, quality, and efficiency by creating goals and a plan through data collection and a dashboard. Health systems are successfully using analytics to engage with electronic medical records and in creating roadmaps for patients. Electronic data collection helps health systems predict roadblocks more accurately. It also helps facilitate faster transitions.

Centralized Utilization Review: Key Considerations for Successful Implementation

As hospitals grapple with ever-changing utilization review (UR) guidelines from CMS and consolidate with other facilities, many are centralizing their UR operations. Under a centralized model, an offsite UR nurse or case manager is alerted when a new patient is admitted and sees all the documentation necessary to determine whether the medical record supports the patient’s status. Centralized UR establishes a standardized common process across facilities, which is a key benefit for multihospital health systems.

CMS Update: Outpatient Total Knee, Hip Arthroplasty

To provide patients with better value and results, CMS has issued a final rule regarding the inpatient-only list of surgical procedures. This list includes procedures that typically are only provided in the inpatient setting and not paid under the Outpatient Prospective Payment System. Criteria for removing procedure from the inpatient-only list includes determining that the procedure is performed in numerous hospitals on an outpatient basis. For example, total knee arthroplasty moved from the list starting in 2018. Total hip arthroplasty is expected to be removed from the list in 2020.