TIP OF THE WEEK
Create an emergency care plan for your patients
Do you provide patients with an emergency care plan? If not, download this simple, comprehensive emergency care plan to provide to your patients. Click here to download.
How you can use this document:
- Customize it with your agency name and phone number.
- Update it with protocols specific to your agency.
- Post it in your patients’ homes.
- Use it as a guide to teach patients the actions to take when specific symptoms occur.
- Put a copy in the patient's record. The care plan can be done at start of care (SOC) and resumption of care (ROC). It also may be helpful to place in SOC/ROC packets.
IN THE NEWS
PHONE-BASED CARE PROGRAM REDUCES RISK OF DEATH IN OLDER ADULTS
December 4, 2006 - - Newswire - - A telephone-based program linking chronically ill older adults to home or community services may significantly reduce mortality risk, according to a new study appearing in the latest issue of Health Service Research.
The results showed that during the 12-month active study period, the telephone program participants had about half the risk of death, compared to older adults who didn’t receive personalized telephone services. Read more >>
PATIENT-CENTERED CARE' IMPORTANT IN EFFORTS TO MEASURE HEALTH CARE QUALITY, FORUM SPEAKERS SAY
December 6, 2006 - - Kaiser Network - - Speakers at a forum hosted by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Commonwealth Fund on Monday said that "patient-centered care" is important in efforts to measure health care quality, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis recommended that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) include patient-centered care in efforts to link Medicare reimbursements with pay-for-performance measures. Read more >>
TALK THERAPY MAY BE BEST FOR DEPRESSED SENIORS
November 29, 2006 - - Reuters Health - - Talk therapy may beat medication for older adults' depression, particularly when therapists work along with the patient's primary care doctor, a research review suggests. The review involved eight previous clinical trials, which found that psychological counseling was more effective, compared with the "usual care" from family doctors for older adults with depression. Read more >>
COMING ATTRACTIONS
Dec 14, 2006 - 10:00-11:00Sparkle Sparks, MPT, HCS-D, COS-C
