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Healthcare spending up as CMS continues push for hospital price transparency…
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcareU.S. healthcare spending rose 4.6% in 2018 to $3.6 trillion, a rate that's higher than in 2017 but near the same level as 2016. Healthcare spending didn't grow as fast as the nation's gross domestic product, so healthcare's share of the economy fell from 17.9% to 17.7%, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Office of the Actuary. The data, released annually, pointed to the increase brought on by the reinstatement of the Affordable Care Act's Health Insurance Tax, which was not in effect for 2017.
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Study: Declining admission, mortality rates due to ED physicians improving…
Lynn Hetzler Healthcare AdministrationThe results of a new study show a substantial decline in mortality rates among Medicare beneficiaries visiting an emergency department from 2009 to 2016, especially among patients with high-severity conditions. Healthcare continues to be in the spotlight as policymakers seek to improve care and its costs. Many policymakers who focus on emergency medicine (EM) characterize it as being overutilized by patients, excessive when it comes to performing tests, overly expensive, and prone to diagnostic errors.
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Planning for the future: There’s no time like the present
Carina Oltmann Medical & Allied HealthcareThe holidays are upon us. There are gifts to purchase and wrap, parties to plan, potluck dishes to prepare and lights to string. Inevitably, many of us will share in some festivities with our close family members. For those of us who work in healthcare, we know that the gifts of good health and time shared with loved ones are precious. What we may not think about is that these hours or days together are an opportune time to take care of a very important matter: Planning for the future and establishing advance directives.
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Your brain on the holidays
Catherine Iste Mental HealthcareOne of my sisters recently noted she was about to complete a knitting class. In the midst of the hubbub of Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping and several birthday celebrations, she had committed to a multiple-session class to learn how to knit. While I assumed that would have increased her stress levels, instead she said it reduced them because it forced her to sit still each class, concentrate on something completely new to her and best of all, would result in the creation of several gifts. Research by a few professors at Harvard confirms her claims.
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2020 is the Year of the Nurse: Is your organization preparing?
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareOn Jan. 30, 2019, the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared 2020 "The Year of the Nurse and Midwife (YONM)" in commemoration of the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale. In terms of healthcare organizations employing nurses, the opportunity exists for nurses to be rightfully honored for their place in the global health delivery system, and for their employers to create a new vision of what nurses can accomplish in the 21st century.
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Why you need to know about telomeres
Victoria Fann Medical & Allied HealthcareMany of us know that long-term stress can affect our health, but did you know that it can also impact aging and longevity? Welcome to the world of telomeres. I first learned about telomeres in 2016, when I worked for a human potential physician that specialized in optimizing health through lifestyle changes. He was one of the first physicians in the country that built his practice around the awareness that lifestyle and behaviors impact one’s genetics.
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Study review: Depressed physicians more likely to commit medical errors
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcareA physician who is depressed is more likely to commit medical errors: This is the primary finding from a review of studies — 11 prior studies that included more than 21,000 physicians — published in JAMA Network Open. Per the findings, physicians with a positive screening for depression were very likely to report medical errors. Further examination found that the association between depressive symptoms in physicians and medical errors is bidirectional.
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Freestanding emergency departments bring speedier care but higher spending
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareFSEDs deliver emergency care in strip malls and in other facilities that are physically separate from acute care hospitals. Freestanding EDs first emerged in the 1970s to fill the need for emergency care in underserved rural areas that could not financially sustain inpatient hospitals, but FSEDs are now popping up primarily in urban and suburban areas. A team of researchers at Rice University investigated the relationship between the number of freestanding emergency departments (FSEDs) and local market spending on emergency care.
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How to improve your oncology patients’ treatment plans
Lisa Mulcahy Medical & Allied HealthcareCancer patients being treated at your facility face myriad difficulties, including physical challenges, treatment side effects and emotional stress. As a healthcare professional, you know this well, and are no doubt seeking to make a hospital stay as beneficial as possible for these patients. The good news is that you can make proactive management decisions that will truly benefit your oncology patients by following this easy but powerful advice.
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The benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy in the palliative setting
Carina Oltmann Medical & Allied HealthcareAdvanced stages of diseases such as cancer, COPD, end-stage renal disease and heart failure can lead to a constellation of physical and psychosocial distress. Symptoms such as fatigue, poor sleep and appetite, dyspnea, nausea and pain impact quality of life and can cause significant suffering. Often, these symptoms are intertwined with intense feelings of sadness, anxiety or depression. For those involved in the care of these individuals, the goal is to alleviate physical and emotional suffering as much as possible with the purpose of improving quality of life and optimizing well-being.
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