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Last November, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued finalized new rules for Medicare- and Medicaid-participating hospitals designed to protect patients' right to choose their own visitors.
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Many physicians are making the decision to implant defibrillators specifically, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) in patients in cases where established guidelines based on the results of previous clinical trials do not appear to support implantation, according to a recent study.
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Researchers might find it tempting to collect data for socio-behavioral studies from social websites like Facebook. Their appeal is having fairly easy access and viewing a broad range of behavioral information. However, there are big ethical issues with regard to informed consent and privacy, an expert says.
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Researchers often criticize IRBs and see them as barriers to research. One way to turn that attitude around is through the creation of a study start-up consultation. This has another advantage: it can improve clinical trial site compliance with human subjects protection regulations and policies.
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Americans' differences in income, race/ethnicity, gender, and other social attributes make a difference in how likely they are to be healthy, sick, or die prematurely, according to a news release issued on a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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IRBs at academic research centers often review international infectious disease research that can raise red flags regarding privacy, confidentiality, and vulnerability.
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As talk of reimbursement reform and pay for performance escalates and health care stakeholders look at ways to improve patient access and outcomes while reducing waste and costs, payers and providers are joining together to create accountable care organizations (ACOs), partnerships that agree to be accountable for the quality, costs, and overall care of a patient population.
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It's hard to imagine a tougher point-of-service collection challenge than collecting from emergency department patients. Patients may expect to pay a small copay, and when they change to inpatient status, may suddenly owe thousands of dollars toward their deductible.
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Every patient access department has registrars who can be counted on to rise to every occasion, but better pay may lure these valuable employees to other hospital departments or industries. Instead, why not give these employees "an offer they can't refuse" that is, a clear path to career advancement.
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Patient estimation software implemented in late 2009 at Tallahassee (FL) Memorial Hospital has "helped tremendously" with collections, says Joan S. Braveman, director of patient access and financial services. "In this past fiscal year, we increased our front-end cash collection by 40%," she says.
