High-risk opioid users are less likely to get a disproportionate quantity of opioid prescriptions from the emergency department than they are at an office visit, according to a recent study in Annals of Emergency Medicine.
At the start of 2018, it’s time to take stock of billing compliance risks that may affect your organization in the new year and patch potential holes before they become a problem.
The Case Management Society of America recently released an updated version of its Case Management Model Act, which is aimed at standardizing best practices in case management to improve clinical and financial outcomes, according to CMSA Today.
Mr. Coin, a chronically ill patient, is being discharged to home. Although the discharge is complex, the transition to home is uneventful—until the case manager, Robin, receives a call from Mr. Coin's son, who tells Robin that her patient has been sent home with his heparin lock still in place.
The 2-midnight rule was designed to simplify decisions on whether to order inpatient or outpatient observation services for patients and to reduce the volume of observation cases. However, some hospitals and healthcare systems have reported that the rule has actually increased confusion around level of care, without lowering observation volumes.
A recent study, led by researchers at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, found that using pharmacy professionals to take medication histories in the emergency department reduced errors associated with medication history and orders by more than 80%.
Designating a hospital property to house individuals with alcohol-use disorders, who might otherwise be homeless, can help better manage the health issues of these complex patients and reduce spending on medical and public services.
