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Case Management Weekly

Case Management Weekly is a free e-mail newsletter that offers news, resources, and Q&As to help case managers from all settings find ways to enhance quality and reduce legal and compliance risks.

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Case Management Weekly

Issue 42, October 11, 2006

• The new face of the uninsured

  More than 9 million children in the United States lack health insurance and the majority of them...

• Study: Patients stop taking medications soon after they’re prescribed

  Nearly one in eight heart patients stop taking some or all of their medications, according to a new...

• U.S. hospital bill approaches $800 billion

  The country's hospital bill, representing 39 million hospital stays, totaled more than $790 billion...

• Tips for when patients should visit the ED

  When and why patients should visit the ED is an important question, as more people use EDs for...

Issue 37, September 13, 2006

• Next CMS administrator faces many challenges

  Even though the White House had advanced knowledge of CMS Administrator Mark McClellan's impending...

• IPPS final rule includes severity of illness reimbursement plan

  The severity of illness part of the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule includes...

• Infection protection: Case managers play a role

  While case managers are trained to identify and prevent hospital-acquired infections for their...

Issue 31, August 2, 2006

• Illinois to employ e-prescribing to eliminate penmanship-related errors

  Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has announced an initiative that would require physicians to use...

• Study reveals uneven care and costs across United States

  More care doesn't always equal better care. In fact, according to a nationwide project completed by...

• Doctors call on JCAHO to mandate improvements in the ER

  Two leading experts in ER care are calling on the JCAHO to mandate an end to ER boarding and...

• Government approves electronic medical records

  The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology, a federally funded, non-profit...

Issue 28, July 12, 2006

• Some hospice patients receive a new lease on life

  Roughly 100,000 patients who check into hospices each year expecting to die within six months, do...

• Hospital uses streamlined scheduling to ease surgical patient flow

  Saint John’s Hospital in Springfield, MO, has adopted a system to spread elective surgeries...

• Time to make the doughnuts: Seniors deal with hole in drug coverage

  Six months into the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, many beneficiaries are approaching the...

• IT programs ensure smooth handoffs

  The Wall Street Journal reported June 28 on several hospitals that are using information technology...

Issue 21, May 24, 2006

• Mismanaging chronic illness: a major Medicare problem

  A new study by researchers at Dartmouth Medical School finds that almost one-third of Medicare...

• Medicare Part D by the numbers

  Days after the Medicare Part D deadline, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt...

• NC hospital reduces wait times during busy season

  New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, NC, recently experienced an increase in...

• Preventing post-discharge adverse drug events takes team approach

  One-third to one-half of adverse drug events (ADEs) are caused by human error or flawed systematic...

Issue 20, May 17, 2006

• AZ paperless hospital improves patient flow

  Phoenix’s Banner Estrella Medical Center is a paperless hospital; all patient charts...

• Architecture plays role in reducing medical errors

  Hospitals traditionally attempt to reduce medical errors by focusing on human mistakes in areas...

• Warning: caregivers at risk

  According to an article in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, hospitalization...

• Pilot program improves throughput and staff satisfaction

  San Jacinto Methodist Hospital (SJMH) in Baytown, TX, recently launched a new pilot program called...

Issue 19, May 10, 2006

• Part D satisfaction a mixed bag

  Early feedback from seniors enrolled in a Medicare drug program is lukewarm, according to a recent...

• Telemedicine devices experience record boom in sales

  The use of telemedicine devices that keep tabs on patients is continuing to increase, according to...

• Percentage of middle-income adults without insurance rising

  As the cost of healthcare continues to climb, so has the number of moderate-income, working...

• Iowa hospitals take page from Toyota's playbook

  The University of Iowa’s University Hospitals are using efficiency techniques created by...

Issue 15, April 12, 2006

• Study finds majority of ED patients have insurance

  ED patients without insurance and primary care doctors are not to blame for ED overcrowding...

• CMS proposes standardized discharge plans

  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed changing how hospitals administer...

• Hospital watchdog softens its bite

  The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is facing harsh criticism...

• Tip of the week: Integrate clinically competent RNs into your case management mo

  Wendy DeVreugd, R.N, F.N.P., director of case management services at Orange Coast Memorial Medical...

Issue 13, March 29, 2006

• Case managers play role in reducing medical errors

  Twelve percent of patients experience an adverse drug event within two weeks of a hospital...

• New hospital blueprints to include all private rooms

  The Facilities Guidelines Institute and the Academy of Architecture for Health at the American...

Issue 12, March 22, 2006

• Quality care is a coin flip, study finds

  U.S. patients receive proper medical care from doctors and nurses only 55% of the time, regardless...

• New heart disease treatment may reduce LOS

  A new procedure to reduce the fluid in congestive heart failure patients may also reduce the length...

• New Web site shines light on hospital pricing

  Consumers will be able to get regional pricing information for more than 55 hospital-based medical...

• Some MDs will withdraw from Medicare if payment decreases

  Some physicians plan to decrease the number of Medicare beneficiaries they treat or stop accepting...

Issue 11, March 15, 2006

• Ambulance diversions increase in Los Angeles County

  Emergency departments at hospitals in Los Angeles County in 2005 diverted paramedic ambulances 8...

• Ambulance diversions increase in Los Angeles County

  Emergency departments at hospitals in Los Angeles County in 2005 diverted paramedic ambulances 8...

• Ambulance diversions increase in Los Angeles County

  Emergency departments at hospitals in Los Angeles County in 2005 diverted paramedic ambulances 8...

• Ambulance diversions increase in Los Angeles County

  Emergency departments at hospitals in Los Angeles County in 2005 diverted paramedic ambulances 8...

• Ambulance diversions increase in Los Angeles County

  Emergency departments at hospitals in Los Angeles County in 2005 diverted paramedic ambulances 8...

• Ambulance diversions increase in Los Angeles County

  Emergency departments at hospitals in Los Angeles County in 2005 diverted paramedic ambulances 8...

• Ambulance diversions increase in Los Angeles County

  Emergency departments at hospitals in Los Angeles County in 2005 diverted paramedic ambulances 8...

• Ambulance diversions increase in Los Angeles County

  Emergency departments at hospitals in Los Angeles County in 2005 diverted paramedic ambulances 8...

• Australian study links overcrowding, deaths

  A study in the The Medical Journal of Australia shows an association between ED overcrowding and...

• U.S residents living longer, healthier lives

  Older U.S. residents are living longer, healthier lives with fewer disabilities, according to a...

• Special senior care in ED can reduce length of stay

  Burnaby Hospital in British Columbia, Canada, has discovered that questioning seniors on specific...

Issue 10, March 8, 2006

• Generic drugs reduce price of Part D

  Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the prescription drug benefit can significantly reduce their...

• Hospital-at-home study finds, 'there's no place like home' for certain elderly p

  In the future, more elderly patients requiring hospital level of care could find themselves staying...

• GAO recommends CMS ensure complete hospital quality data

  CMS should take steps to improve its processes for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of...

• Patient flow coordinators increase ED throughput

  Memorial Hospital in York, PA, now uses two patient flow coordinators to help facilitate tests...

Issue 9, March 1, 2006

• CMS considering ways to control proliferation of drug plan offerings

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is considering limits on the number of...

• ASU researchers work to improve patient flow

  Researchers at Arizona State University (ASU) are studying ways to improve patient flow in the...

• ASU researchers work to improve patient flow

  Researchers at Arizona State University (ASU) are studying ways to improve patient flow in the...

• Medicare plans estimated to increase by almost 7%

  Rates for Medicare managed care plans will increase by a minimum of 6.9% in 2007, the CMS said in a...

• MN hospital recognized for reducing patient deaths

  The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) recognized Unity Hospital, Fridley, MN, for cutting...

Issue 8, February 22, 2006

• Medicare Part D prior authorization requirements examined

  In a recent article, The New York Times examined how some physicians and pharmacists maintain that...

• CMS urged to improve flawed payment system

  The Senate Finance Committee recently requested changes in the Medicare payment system to improve...

• Pilot program seeks to help patients with chronic conditions

  CMS recently announced it has enrolled 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries in a pilot program to test a...

• JCAHO increase accreditation thresholds for 2006

  Hospitals have a slight cushion this year in the number of requirements for improvement necessary...

Issue 7, February 15, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Web-based registration improves flow

  Sierra View District Hospital in Porterville, CA, has begun an initiative to reduce patient wait...

• CMS to make Part D easier to swallow

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is working to address problems in the...

• CMS to make Part D easier to swallow

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is working to address problems in the...

• EDs divert an ambulance every minute in the U.S.

  An ambulance is diverted to a different hospital every minute because of emergency department...

• Number of Americans over 85 expected to triple

  The number of Americans over the age of 85 is expected to triple by the year 2030, according to the...

Issue 6, February 8, 2006

• Patient satisfaction surveys go public

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is to collect hospitals’ patient...

• Medicare Part D less expensive than projected

  The net cost to the federal government of the Medicare prescription drug benefit in 2006 is...

• Out-of-pocket health spending outpaces increases in income

  Increases in families’ out-of-pocket healthcare spending are outpacing increases in average...

• Tip of the month: Cell phones more effective than pagers

  A new study by the Yale School of Medicine shows that cell phones help to reduce medical errors by...

Issue 5, February 1, 2006

• JCAHO to hospitals: "Improve medication reconciliation"

  The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) sent an alert last week...

• KS hospital tries five-level triage

  Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, KS, has started using five-level triage when admitting...

• Medicare Part D endangers patient assistance drug programs

  Advocates for the poor and uninsured are urging drug-makers not to discontinue their patient...

• Tip of the month: Know your denial numbers

  Using the most automated format available-ideally the electronic remittance data from the Health...

Issue 4, January 25, 2006

• Maryland officials work to divert non-emergency cases out of the ED

  The Maryland Patient Safety Center has launched a program to reduce overcrowding in the emergency...

• Medicare Part D still puzzling majority

  A recent Associated Press poll reveals that two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries who have enrolled...

• JCAHO recommends staff flu shots

  The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) last week put out a...

• Hospitals implement video translation service

  A video-based translation service soon will be launched at two public hospitals in Northern...

Issue 3, January 19, 2006

• ED report card needs improvement

  Grades are in, and U.S. hospital emergency departments failed to make the honor roll in a...

• ED report card needs improvement

  Grades are in, and U.S. hospital emergency departments failed to make the honor roll in a...

• Medicare Part D frustrations continue

  The Senior Citizen's Law Center (SCLC) sent a letter on Wednesday to The Centers for Medicare...

• Observation unit designed to improve patient flow

  A new observation unit at Park Ridge Hospital in Rochester, NY, will hold patients waiting for test...

• Pop Quiz: How savvy are your patients?

  As a result of research efforts led by Barry D. Weiss, MD, University of Arizona College of...

• Hospitals use remote systems to improve care, reduce stays

  Two Delaware hospitals are using remote links and cameras to connect intensivists and other...

Issue 2, January 11, 2006

• "CMS, we have a problem": turbulent launch for Medicare Part D

  Thousands of Medicare beneficiaries who enrolled in the new drug benefit were unable to fill their...

• Survey says: CMS will evaluate fee-for-service contractors

  CMS recently unveiled a new survey designed to measure provider satisfaction with Medicare...

• Tip of the week: Color-code observation patients

  If your hospital does not have its own observation status ward, it might be wise to consider a...

Issue 1, January 3, 2006

• $500,00 in grants to target ED arrivals and departures

  Ten doctors in Harvard-affiliated hospitals in Massachusetts are to receive $50,000 grants to study...

• Drug prices in Medicare Part D much higher than veterans’ prices

  The drugs most often used by senior citizens are 48% more expensive under the new Medicare Part D...

• Alabama ED reduces LOS, increases patient satisfaction

  Staffing and configuration changes at Athens-Limestone Hospital's (AL) ED have cut the average...

• Tip of the week: Mt. Sinai patients to use smart cards

  A new patient smart card program at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City will provide patients with...

Issue 2, January 11, 2006

• A click a day, keeps the doctor.aware!

  Patients in the Palo Alto Medical Foundation have been using a personal health record system that...