Case managers and social workers have an active role in helping patients and families make end-of-life decisions such as using palliative care and hospice.
Facilities that hold regular interdisciplinary care coordination rounds often say such meetings save time. However, the rounds can turn from time-savers to time-wasters if the matters discussed do not stay on topic or drag on.
Here's one trend industry observers say healthcare organizations can expect to see now and in the future: heightened patient awareness and concern about the security of their private medical data.
Organizations need to determine whether they have fully implemented the Security Rule. The HIPAA Security Rule has been around for a while, but many organizations have not implemented all of its requirements.
