What You Need to Know About the Utilization Review Process
UR nurses speak a different language than most other bedside nurses. In all settings, to justify payment or suggest an alternative status, the hospital UR nurse and the insurance UR nurse first discuss medical necessity criteria. If there is disagreement between the nurses about status and therefore payment, then the physicians discuss medical necessity during a scheduled peer-to-peer conference.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 4 – High Reliability During a Pandemic
On episode 4 of PSQH: The Podcast, host Jay Kumar talks to Anne Marie Benedicto, vice president of the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, about how hospitals have used high reliability practices to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coronavirus: How Dartmouth-Hitchcock Is Reopening Paused Services
As the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic spread across the country in March, many health systems and hospitals suspended some outpatient services and most elective surgeries. Now, most of these organizations are seeking to reactivate paused services without endangering patients and staff. Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s strategy could serve as a blueprint for other health systems that were not innundated with COVID-19 patients.
Cal/OSHA Issues Guidance for Hospitals on Aerosol Transmissible Disease Standard
California’s Aerosol Transmissible Disease standard requires that employers protect workers at healthcare facilities and other services and operations from airborne diseases like COVID-19 and tuberculosis, influenza, and pertussis (whooping cough). There is no corresponding federal standard.
EHRs Fail to Detect Up to One-third of Medication Errors
Researchers at the University of Utah Health, Harvard University, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found that the most commonly used EHRs in hospitals across the nation fail to detect up to 33% of potentially dangerous drug interactions and other medication errors that could harm or kill patients.
Physician Advocate: Coronavirus Pandemic Shows Need to Ease Regulatory Burdens
The pandemic has compounded the stress and burnout physicians were already experiencing from regulatory burdens, he says. “Prior to the pandemic, onerous regulations made it difficult to enjoy practicing medicine and hindered the physician-patient relationship, which 78.7% of physicians regard as the most satisfying part of their job, according to our 2018 Survey of America’s Physicians.”
Bullying is Rife Among Surgical Residents, Especially for Women
Researchers from the American College of Surgeons and Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center at Northwestern University, both in Chicago, surveyed U.S. 6,956 general surgery residents and found that 67% of respondents have experienced at least one bullying behavior during their time as a resident.
Study: About a Quarter of Hospitals Have Telestroke Capacity
As of 2019, just over 27% of hospitals had telestroke capacity, according to the study. Over a third of hospitals with telestroke capacity by 2017 were larger health systems, while nearly 15% were smaller organizations.
Telehealth Expansion During Coronavirus Pandemic Changing Physician-Patient Relationship
In March, when the pandemic took hold in the United States, telehealth visits increased 50%, according to Frost and Sullivan. With in-person medical visits associated with the risk of coronavirus infection, virtual visits emerged as a safe and effective way for patients to meet with their doctors in many circumstances.
Survey: Patients Equally Satisfied with Virtual Encounters Compared to In-Person Visits
The survey was conducted over a six-week period concluding at the end of April and includes more than 30,000 responses. During that time respondents reported nearly 70% of their encounters involved a full or mixed virtual medicine component. Mixed visits could have included a combination of video and in-person visits, telephone, email, or text.