-
The U.S. healthcare system, with a focus on outpatient visits for acute problems, might not be supporting patients with chronic illness in their everyday lives to manage their health.
-
Technology is beneficial to people designing programs to impact the health behaviors of their patient population base, says Jason L. Bittle, community health improvement coordinator at Hanover (PA) Hospital Wellness and Education Center.
-
New initiatives being developed as a result of healthcare reform, such as the patient-centered medical home and the accountable care organization, are new models of care delivery, but the concepts are not new to case managers, says Mary Beth Newman, MSN, RN-BC, CMAC, CCP, MEP, CCM, program manager, case management, WellPoint Centers of Medical Excellent, based in Mason, OH, and president of the Case Management Society of America (CMSA) with headquarters in Little Rock, AR.
-
When it comes to helping their patients or clients learn to take responsibility for their own healthcare, the first thing case managers have to do is to get to know them and become familiar with their family situation, says B.K. Kizziar, RN-BC, CCM, CLP, owner of B.K. & Associates, a Southlake, TX, case management consulting firm.
-
Palliative care isn't just for hospice patients; it also is used to manage the symptoms of those with chronic or advanced illnesses. One hospital system in Michigan has brought palliative care into all aspects of hospital care for all patients.
-
Palliative care was only recognized as a specialty five years ago by the American College of Graduate Medical Education. Because of its newness, those working in the specialty are still learning how to effectively collect data and make use of the information once they have collected it.
-
An implanted heart rhythm device may generate repeated painful shocks during a patient's final hours, at a time when the natural process of dying often affects the heart's rhythm. Yet, clinicians rarely discuss options for limiting these distressing events at the end of life (EOL), according to a new review of literature1, appearing in American Journal of Nursing.
-
The case of a pair of "craniopagus" twins (conjoined at the head) illustrates the complex bioethical issues involved in deciding whether to attempt separation surgery, according to an article1 in a recent issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
-
The Hastings Center is exploring the ethical challenges that clinicians and organizations face when providing medical care to undocumented immigrants in the United States. The project is supported by a grant from the Overbrook Foundation Domestic Human Rights Program.
-
Among the latest healthcare trends seeking to advance "individualized medicine" are private companies marketing genetic testing directly to patients.
