News
75% of Medicaid Recipients Will Be Covered by an MCO by 2015
An increasing number of Medicaid recipients are receiving their benefits through a managed care organization. Most of the new Medicaid enrollees under the Affordable Care Act will also be covered by an MCO. A managed care organization was already providing Medicaid coverage to 63% of recipients in 2012. With all the new enrollees, that numberRead the Rest…
Affordable Care Act and Doctors Q and A
When the topic turns to the Affordable Care Act and doctors, a pair of issues always seem to come up and raise concerns about Obamacare’s effect on doctors and their practices. The last time we took a look at some of the questions relating to the ACA and how it impacts patients, this time we’reRead the Rest…
Affordable Care Act Q & As
It’s still too soon after implementation to have many questions raised by the Affordable Care Act answered definitively, and of course, debates in courts across the nation will likely change things. But, some of the details about how it’s impacting quality patient care are beginning to come into focus even as they raise more questions.Read the Rest…
New Bill Will Save Medicare $100 Billion and Improve Post-Acute Care
A recently drafted Bill known as the Bundling and Coordinating Post-Acute Care Act of 2014 (BACPAC) is an attempt to improve post hospitalist care for patients and save Medicare as much as $100 billion over 10 years. The fundamental idea is that Medicare would pay a lump sum for 90 days of post-acute care. Post-acuteRead the Rest…
7 Jobs Created By the Affordable Care Act
It remains to be seen whether the Affordable Care Act will ultimately increase or decrease jobs overall, but for some job categories there is no question – and the news is good. Although these new jobs are created in direct response to the increased number of Americans with health insurance, most of them aren’t inRead the Rest…
Mobile Devices in Hospital Patient Care
Who’s Using What Medical professionals, like everyone else, love their electronic devices – and are becoming increasingly dependent on them in hospital patient care. With multiple options available, they are moving between some combination of smartphones, tablets, laptops and PCs during their day, depending on the task at hand. Some, called digital omnivores, are usingRead the Rest…
Facts about Dual Eligible And Its Beneficiaries
There are more than 9 million Americans that qualify as dual eligible, meaning they receive healthcare benefits from both Medicare and Medicaid. While they account for just 14% of all Medicaid enrollees, they cost Medicaid 36% – $139 billion – of its annual medical expenditures, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report. This is becauseRead the Rest…
Why Hospital Readmissions from Nursing Homes Don’t Matter
The Senate recently passed a bill that links skilled nursing facility payments to hospital readmissions. Despite this, hospital readmissions from the nursing home will not change the way they operate. This bill is nothing more than a rate reduction bill for nursing homes. In nursing homes, occupancy is King. From the birth of the nursingRead the Rest…
9 Tips for Creating Better Communication at Your Healthcare Facility
Although the Internet has increased the number of communications we initiate and respond to in any given day, it has done little for the quality of communication – and the poor skills have begun to spill out into the workplace. Miscommunication can be the root cause of a myriad of problems and, when it comesRead the Rest…
Creating a More Effective Relationship Between SNFs and Physicians
The high rate of hospital readmissions from Post-Hospitalist Facilities during the first 30 days after discharge is under scrutiny because of its high cost to both Medicare and patient care. Significant advances can be made by improving relationships between SNFs and physicians. Even better for patient care appears to be having a physician on staffRead the Rest…