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Successful strategies to cut patient readmissions
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationAs a hospital administrator, there's no doubt that you're seeking to avoid readmissions in any way you can. You want your patients to do well health-wise after discharge, first and foremost, and you also want to avoid any financial penalty from Medicare for especially high readmission rates at your institution. This can be hard to accomplish, however. The good news? There are concrete steps you can take to reduce this issue, improve your patients' outcomes and strengthen your staff members' collaborative efforts as they work to make the post-care transition as safe and seamless as possible.
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New law makes it easier for veterans to access healthcare
Tammy Hinojos Oral & Dental HealthcareOur nation’s veterans certainly deserve the spotlight all the time. But in the month of July, the spotlight shines a little brighter as, collectively, we recognize and honor our nation’s veterans as we celebrate the birth of the United States of America. Just in time for this year’s Fourth of July festivities, a new law has passed that will make it easier for all veterans to receive needed health care and will also benefit the dentists and physicians who work for Veterans Affairs facilities.
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Pharmacists forge an expanded role in patient-centered care
Sheilamary Koch PharmaceuticalComplex patients see their pharmacist an average of 35 times each year — that’s 10 times more than most will visit their primary care physician, according to claims data from the state of North Carolina’s Medicaid care coordination network. As the provider who directly interfaces with the patient most — no one is better positioned to regularly monitor the patient than the pharmacist. Yet while it’s logical that pharmacists perform other vital tasks to manage patient care in addition to dispensing medicine, this not yet the norm in the U.S. healthcare system.
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The screen problem for children with anxiety
Terry Lynam Mental HealthcareWhile depictions of violence affect many children differently, those with an anxiety disorder are more likely to experience a negative impact. "Children who have a preexisting anxiety disorder are at greater risk for reacting more viscerally to violent or frightening images or stories," said Dr. Victor Fornari, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens, New York City.
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New study looks at transplants from drug overdose donors
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareDemand for donor organs for transplant is high. Someone is added to the national transplant waitlist every 10 minutes, according to UNOS, and an estimated 20 people die every day waiting for a transplant. Deceased donors save thousands of lives each year, as four out of five donated organs come from deceased donors. Now, an increasing number of organs are coming from donors who died from drug overdoses.
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Take the stress out of testing for your patients
Lisa Mulcahy Medical & Allied HealthcareFor most patients, medical tests are obviously necessary protocol — but they're not a lot of fun, for a number of reasons. Testing can cause much more emotional distress to patients than many doctors suspect, in fact. A study from the University of Illinois at Chicago found that many people reported serious symptoms of anticipatory anxiety in a situation like waiting for test results, such as worrying for an entire day. The positive news: you as a physician can do a lot to take the stress out of the testing process.
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Labor Dept. rules expand AHPs, in further blow to Obamacare
Seth Sandronsky Healthcare AdministrationThe Trump administration’s Department of Labor on June 19 issued a final rule that lets groups of small businesses offer Association Health Plans (AHPs), which are health insurance plans that sidestep some provisions of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. "Every American should be able to get comprehensive health care coverage they can afford, and we support the goal of increasing competition and choice in ways that improve affordability," said Kristine Grow, senior vice president of communications for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a national trade association, in a statement.
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The effects of loneliness on our hearts
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareIt is well-known that our hearts often respond to our emotional state. For example, broken heart syndrome, also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy or takotsubo cardiomyopathy, is a recently recognized heart problem. Symptoms of broken heart syndrome can look like those of a heart attack. But a broken heart may not be the only emotional stressor that affects our hearts. Loneliness may also be bad for the heart and may even lead to premature death.
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Help your doctors and nurses work better together
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationA great hospital administrator is always looking for ways to improve patient care and satisfaction. One very important component toward achieving that goal is properly integrating the collaboration between doctors and nurses — but unfortunately, this key relationship is rarely optimized. How can you encourage your doctors and nurses to work in tandem more closely and effectively to help your patients achieve better outcomes? Try these research-proven strategies.
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Parts of Obamacare deemed unconstitutional by DOJ
Joan Spitrey Healthcare AdministrationEver since the 2010 Affordable Care Act went into effect, it has been entrenched in court battles. One controversial provision in the law was that if Americans chose not to get health insurance, they faced a potential penalty. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Congress' ability to fine those who did not get health insurance as it deemed the financial penalty basically a tax. However, on June 7, the Justice Department said that the requirement for people to have insurance — the individual mandate — was unconstitutional.
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