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Knowledge Point Articles
Welcome to Knowledge Point, the quarterly eNewsletter for health care providers. Our mission is to share clinical and regulatory expertise from the health care community with you. If you would like to subcribe to Briggs Knowledge Point Articles for Home Care, please email us at HomeCare@BriggsCorp.com with your request.
July 2007
How Art Heals
Scientific studies show us that art heals a person by changing his or her physiology and attitude. It affects a person’s autonomic nervous system, hormonal balance and brain neurotransmitter.
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April 2007
Staff Recognition is Easier than You Think
Recognition goes a long way, and often managers and supervisors get caught up in the busyness of the day and fail to express their appreciation, in many cases unintentionally.
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March 2007
An Overview of Falls
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than one-third of adults age 65 and older fall every year in the United States.
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February 2007
Preventative Health Measures for the Homebound Elderly
Let’s take a look at homebound seniors and what can be done to improve their functional status.
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January 2007
Updated Chapter 8 OASIS Implementation Manual
CMS recently published the updated revision of Chapter 8 in the OASIS Implementation Manual.
A few of these corrections, though minor, could impact payments and patient outcomes.
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December 2006
Home Health Disease Management
Home Health is the “perfect fit” for Disease Management. There are four critical factors that set the stage for the provision of Disease Management by Home Health providers.
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November 2006
Simplifying Wound Care in the Home Care Setting
Home care agencies continually seek new and innovative ways to improve efficiency without sacrificing quality. Data from the most recent National Home and Hospice Care Survey shows that 7.2 million Americans receive home care services and approximately 5.6% of these individuals are diagnosed with chronic ulcers of the skin
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September 2006
Reduce Flu and Pneumonia Hospitalizations with Proper Immunizations
August was National Immunization Awareness Month. Typically this makes us think about getting our children ready to go off to school, but it should also remind us to prepare our Medicare patients for the upcoming flu season.
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August 2006
Medication Management
Up to 30% of all hospitalizations and up to 45% of re-admissions among the
elderly can be attributed to medication mismanagement. The cost can reach $3,244 per episode.
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April 2006
Importance of Standardization in Home Health
As with any business, the ultimate goal is success. To accurately measure success, we must be able to identify the elements that contribute to a successful agency and quality of care.
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March 2006
Finding CMS and Other Web Resources Just-In-Time
Are you having difficulty locating certain information related to home health or hospice on the web? As the amount of information grows, you must know where to find the needed information just-in-time. Over the years, I have
found a Web Site References sheet to be extremely helpful. This Reference sheet
includes specific organizations and information topics with the related web
sites for areas from accreditation, OASIS, diagnosis coding, quality
initiatives, standards of practice and CMS …
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February 2006
Simplification of the Documentation Process for Home Health and Hospice
What should we be documenting and/or what should we not be documenting? The dilemma is how do we simplify the process to meet both the regulatory requirements and still improve the ratio of actual time spent in direct patient care versus the time spent with paperwork and documentation …
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January 2006
Patient Education
Patient education has long been an important aspect of health care. Home care nurses are also playing an important role in educating the patient. Some of the challenges home care agencies face include limited availability of comprehensive patient education material and lack of material geared toward care in the home.
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December 2005
Briggs National Quality Improvement and Hospitalization Reduction Project
Reducing hospitalizations may be the single most important quality challenge faced by agencies. The challenge is learning what agencies with a good Home Care Compare score in acute hospitalization are …
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October 2005
Flu Season Is Fast Approaching
Influenza (flu) is a serious disease. It is caused by a virus that spreads from an infected person to the nose or throat of others. Anyone can get the flu. Most people are only sick for a few days, but some get much sicker and may even require hospitalization. Influenza causes thousands of deaths each year, mostly among the elderly.
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September 2005
Clinical Pathways Lead to Positive Outcomes
The combination of PPS and the population’s increasing age has forced health care providers to re-examine the methods of health care delivery. One concept of health care delivery rapidly gaining attention in home care is disease management programs and one of the essential components of a disease management program is a clinical pathway.
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August 2005
The NEW Expedited Review Process
Many of us have already seen questions as a result of the new regulation regarding Expedited Review Notices. Adding to the confusion are remaining questions about a new Home Health Advanced Beneficiary Notice (HHABN).
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July 2005
Reducing Your Re-hospitalization Rates
A recent study revealed what agencies across the country are doing to improve
re-hospitalization rates.
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June 2005
Successful Wound Management Begins with Standardization
Outcomes Based Quality Improvement (OBQI) and Outcomes Based Quality Monitoring (OBQM) have pushed outcomes to the top of the priority list. Of course, as health care providers, we want to provide positive clinical and financial outcomes. However, achieving both is a delicate balancing act …
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May 2005
Wound Care Identity Crisis and Coding Problems
Identifying wounds correctly will assist your clinicians in getting the correct ICD-9 codes assigned to MO230 and MO240. This will help you obtain the correct reimbursement for the care you provide to your wound care patients.
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