Author: trident500
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There’s No Reason for It, It’s Just Our Policy
On June 1, 2009 the town of McAllen, Texas rose to brief prominence on the American political stage. With the highest (bar Miami) per-beneficiary costs in the entire US Medicare program, it was featured in an essay in The New Yorker by Atul Gawande, then seized upon by President Obama: "This is what we have…
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Applying Evidence-Based Guidelines in the Medical Home
Despite the challenges, cost and uncertain return of EHRs, practices should move quickly to adopt this tool, recommends Dr. Richard J. Baron, president and CEO of Greenhouse Internists, where the EHR is the backbone that supports the implementation of evidence-based practices. Dr. Baron shared his practice’s evidence-based guidelines experience — from working with physicians on…
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Medical Home Reimbursement: Exploring Bundled Payment Options
Healthcare reform partially fueled Baptist Health System’s desire to participate in the CMS Acute Care Episode (ACE) pilot that is testing bundled or episodic payments for selected orthopedic and cardiac procedures, explains Michael Zucker, Baptist’s chief development officer. He describes some early returns from the experience, highlights the provider’s role in Baptist’s multi-pronged awareness campaign…
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Medical Home Open House Highlights: Focus on Care Continuity, Quality and Access
The opening sessions of the Medical Home Open House webinar series delivered tips for improving care continuity, quality and access for patients assigned to a medical home. Healthcare thought leaders Barbara Wall, Doreen Salek and Liz Reardon describe …
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Medical Home Open House Highlights Focus on Care Continuity Quality and Access
The opening sessions of the Medical Home Open House webinar series delivered tips for improving care continuity, quality and access for patients assigned to a medical home. Healthcare thought leaders Barbara Wall, Doreen Salek and Liz Reardon
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Providing More Choices for Those Who Depend on Ventilators
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) is building capacity in community care for those who depend on ventilators. Hoping to reduce pressures in acute and long-term care, increase the housing choices for those dependent on ventilators and improve the transition from one care sector to another, the WRHA, working in partnership with a local housing…
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Constructing Care Transitions to Reduce Hospital Admissions
Geisinger Health Plan’s successful Transitions of Care program is the health plan’s response to rising rehospitalization rates among Medicare patients, a major concern of both CMS and private payors. Geisinger Health Plan’s Doreen Salek defines the transition teams’ key area of focus when providing a “clean and clear handoff” of a patient from one care…
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Meet the Medical Home Neighbor: Accountable Care Organizations
The accountable care organization (ACO) — a network of primary care physicians, one or more hospitals, and subspecialists that provide patient-centered care — is receiving increasing attention as healthcare reform unfolds. Not only do ACOs compleme…
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Meet the Medical Home Neighbor Accountable Care Organizations
The accountable care organization (ACO) — a network of primary care physicians, one or more hospitals, and subspecialists that provide patient-centered care — is receiving increasing attention as healthcare reform unfolds. Not only do ACOs
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Finding Success in Health Behavior Change
A move backward in readiness to change should not be perceived as a failure on the client’s part but rather as an opportunity to readjust behavior goals, observes Kate Larsen, president of Winning LifeStyles, Inc., an ICF-certified professional coach and a WellCoaches(R) faculty member and mentor coach. There’s value in reminding clients that health coaching…