Program aims to increase nurses’ time with patients
A pilot program being implemented at two Kaiser Permanente hospitals aims to improve nurses’ work flow so they can spend more time with patients and less time on other tasks, including charting and locating equipment. Effective changes made at the end of the program will be launched network-wide.
Church fairs help get people into health care system
Researchers said nurse-run church health fairs are an effective way to help screen low-income and immigrant populations for high blood pressure and get them into the health care system.
Sebelius to create action plan for disparities in health services
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said she is working on an action plan that will focus on ending the gap in medical services between white and minority populations this year. Sebelius said the agency also would make efforts to fight childhood obesity and use social networking to spread health care information.
HHS report finds continued rise in hospital-related infections
The HHS called for a renewed focus on reducing hospital-related infections after finding that “very little progress” has been made. In its 2009 quality report to Congress, the HHS noted an increase in the rates of illnesses for three of the five major types of potentially fatal hospital-acquired infections.
RAND study links patient safety to malpractice claims
A RAND analysis of claims and safety data in California showed better patient safety efforts by hospitals could reduce medical malpractice claims. Researchers said they found that when the number of adverse events goes up in one year, malpractice claims tend to follow and vice versa.
Getting patients to take their meds
One of the major causes of poor health and high healthcare costs is also one of the least appreciated — medication adherence. Patients, especially those with chronic health conditions such as asthma, heart disease and diabetes, just don’t take their medicine. Adherence rates hover at about 50% for many of these conditions which lead to exacerbations and complications. The New England Journal of Medicine recently ran a perspective article calling for more attention to medication adherence in healthcare reform.
Health care reform package expands RAC program to Medicaid
The Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act approved last month, requires federal government agencies expand the current recovery audit contractor (RAC) program to Medicaid and Medicare Parts C and D no later than December 31, 2010. Although it is still unclear how this requirement will be met, it appears that the Medicaid RACs will be independent of the Medicaid Integrity Contractors (MIC), who are already operating. Unlike the RACs, MICs do not receive a portion of the recoupment money.
