Hospital
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Team approach to readmission reductions pays off
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center has avoided readmission penalties for Medicare patients by launching a series of initiatives that tailor interventions to the individual patient.
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Take time to base the discharge plan on patients’ individual challenges
It’s a mistake to assume that every readmission could be prevented by better medical management. In fact, about half of all readmissions are attributed to social issues.
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Five years later, hospitals still struggle with readmissions
Despite the huge focus on reducing 30-day readmission rates, a majority of hospitals are still getting penalized.
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Did the provider “Google” a patient?
Of 530 medical students, residents and physicians, 64 used Google to research a patient, and 10 had searched for patients on Facebook, according to a recent survey.
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Is it ethical to practice invasive procedures on the newly dead?
Is it ethical to use the bodies of newly dead patients to practice invasive procedures such as thoracotomies, cricothyrotomies, lateral canthotomies, or venous cutdowns?
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Is patient’s POLST form inaccessible to provider?
Even if patients’ end-of-life wishes are meticulously documented using a Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment form, they sometimes are ignored simply because a provider can’t locate the form.
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Placebo effect eases pain — even if participants are aware
The placebo effect eases pain even if research participants know the treatment they are receiving has no medical value whatsoever, according to a recent study.
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Aggressive end-of-life care persists in cancer patients
Despite a 40% increase in the number of patients with cancer who designated a durable power of attorney, there was no decrease in the rates of aggressive medical care received in the last weeks of life, according to a recent study.
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Failure to disclose doctor’s financial interest in medical product leads to $5.5 million verdict
News: A man with three broken ribs was admitted into a local hospital. It was determined the man did not need surgery but should have his pain managed before being discharged a few days later.
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Overprescribing opioids leads to more than $718,000 jury verdict
News: In 2009, a 64-year-old man went to the hospital seeking treatment for his broken foot and an exacerbation of his COPD. While in the hospital’s ED, he was given 3 mg of Dilaudid, a powerful opioid used to manage pain. He was given the drug three times, 1 mg at a time over three hours.