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If your hospital has been focusing solely on improving Medicare records in preparation for the permanent Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program, you may find yourself in a bind as other payers roll out their own audit programs.
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When Henrico Doctor's Hospital in Richmond, VA, launched a hospitalwide initiative to improve patient throughput, the team was able to shave 2.5 hours off the average discharge time and decrease the average length of stay on the medical unit from almost 10 days to five days in the first six months of the project.
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An effective and simple discharge checklist is the ideal tool for hospital nurses and others who handle the patient discharge process.
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A researcher and pediatric physician who has studied insurance and immigration issues related to medical care has found that several myths create an emotional response that complicates the medical and political issue of who should pay for health care for undocumented immigrants.
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When Lori Dempsey talks to health care professionals around the country about her experiences with the Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) demonstration project, she opens her presentation by saying: "Are you nervous? Are you frustrated? Are you anxious about the RACs? Well, I'm here to legitimize all of those concerns."
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When challenged to increase efficiency and decrease length of stay, a multidisciplinary task force at Mercy St. Vincent's Medical Center in Toledo, OH, made the decision to have case managers on duty on every unit 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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By focusing on discharge on Day 1 and during daily multidisciplinary rounds, Scott & White Healthcare in Round Rock, TX, has maintained an average length of stay for Medicare patients of just 3.2 days and achieved a 30-day readmission rate of just 3%.
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When the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) demonstration project began, the RACs began sending out chart requests slowly in the initial months, then increased the volume as the project went on, sometimes issuing requests for as many as 500 records at one time.
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The ED at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, KS, has virtually eliminated ambulance diversion; there were two diversions in June. It also has reduced its rate of patients leaving without being treated from 12% to 4%.
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The electrocardiogram (ECG) and X-ray of a chest pain patient in his mid-50s were both normal when examined by the treating ED physician. However, the physician's shift ended before the patient's lab results were back.
