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When QMed contracts with a health plan to manage its coronary artery disease, heart failure, or diabetes population, the Laurence Harbor, NJ, disease management firm does more than just rely on claims data to come up with a treatment plan for members identified for disease management. The company also sends a team of specialists into individual physician offices to extract data from the patient files of members identified for the program, often coming up with clinical information and medical histories that arent available from the insurance carrier.
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A field-based disease management care program in which nurses meet face to face with members with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease has resulted in dramatic decreases in emergency department (ED) visits and hospital bed days for patients managed by RMS Disease Management Services in Vernon Hills, IL, an affiliate of DaVita Inc.
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When new members enroll in one of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahomas (BCBSOK) health promotion programs, they receive free equipment to help them monitor their chronic disease.
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Thanks to wireless technology, case managers working in Chicagos poorest neighborhoods no longer have lengthy waits to get referrals to other agencies for their clients.
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The recent report on assisted reproductive technology (ART) by the Presidents Council on Bioethics has been drawing a favorable reception from groups advocating womens health and reproductive choice.
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A study shows only 50%-60% get recommended care. A recent analysis of data collected by the RAND Corp, a Santa Monica, CA-based health policy think tank, indicates that people in all parts of the nation are at risk for receiving poor health care.
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Although the researchers themselves focused on deficiencies in the delivery of health care, officials with the nonprofit consumer protection group, Public Citizen, claim the new analysis of health care quality conducted by the RAND Corp. demonstrates that the malpractice insurance crisis is not as great as tort reform advocates claim.
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According to newly released survey data from the Huntington Valley, PA-based Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), intimidating behavior is a common element of many health care practice settings, and such behavior is a factor in the occurrence of many medication errors.
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Mediation long has been known as an alternative way of resolving civil legal disputes. But as the following case study illustrates, it is emerging as a new way to help resolve conflicts in medical settings.
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From an IRB members perspective, these are trying times. On the one hand, investigators complain that regulations for human subjects research and IRBs are too stringent, making it difficult for them to do their studies. Alternatively, human subjects advocates continually complain that IRBs and institutions are too lax in monitoring clinical studies.
