Methodist South Hospital in Memphis, TN, began using the Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR) tool to meet two basic needs: standardizing communication across the facility and managing complex cases.
Families often have to make difficult decisions when a loved one is in the ICU, and they rely on hospital case managers and social workers for support and information.
There are specific MS-DRGs, called transfer DRGs, that can trigger certain transfer rules that cause a hospital to receive a reduced rate for early discharges to specific locations.
Medicare guidelines state that patients must be given a choice when it comes to their discharge options, but hospitals have a number of other options when it comes to discussing discharge plans with their patients.
In a recent HCPro audio conference titled “ Observation Services v. Inpatient Admission: Assign Proper Level of Care and Prevent Denials,” experts answered listeners’ questions about proper use of observation services.
In an effort to enhance outcomes and standardize practice in pediatric patients, Children’s Hospital and Medical Center created three sets of clinical protocols for three of the hospital’s high-volume DRGs.
