TIP OF THE WEEK
Frontloading visits for patients at risk for hospitalization
Frontloading visits is defined as “providing more visits early in the episode with the expectation that more frequent visits will not only increase symptom surveillance but also promote more intensive patient teaching.” (Rogers, Perlic, and Madigan, 2007). Many agencies that visit patients at high risk for hospitalization more often in the first few weeks have experienced a reduction in acute care hospitalizations.
Minimally, consider the following two populations:
- Patients with heart failure have substantial rehospitalization rates, ranging from 25 to 40 percent with rehospitalization most often occurring in the first one to three weeks following hospital discharge.
- Patients with diabetes require extensive support for self-management and also experience substantial rehospitalization rates between 28 and 30 percent.
Learn more about frontloading visits by downloading the following documents:
- Best Practice Intervention Package: Phone Monitoring and Front-loading Visits
- The Impact of Front-Loading Visits on Patient Rehospitalization
RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT
Teletriage for Clinicians Podcast (MP3 10.1 MB)
Effective teletriage skills can be taught. Bring your clinicians together and listen to the “Teletriage: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly” podcast (audio recording). Use this recording at your next clinician educational session to demonstrate strengths and weaknesses of teletriage.
IN THE NEWS
LEARN ABOUT THE POST ACUTE CARE PAYMENT REFORM DEMONSTRATION
CMS -- The purpose of this demonstration project is to develop a uniform assessment instrument for acute hospitals and four post-acute care settings. Analysis topics are payment recommendations, discharge patterns, and patient outcomes. Researchers are developing data collection tools and recruiting participants this year. Data collection will begin in 2008. The demonstration is scheduled to conclude in 2010. This demonstration project stems from the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Learn more >>
WEB SITES OFFER MORE INFORMATION ON QUALITY OF PHYSICIANS, HOSPITALS
July 23, 2007 -- Kaiser Network -- The Los Angeles Times on Sunday examined how "insurers, the government and other sources are providing information, especially on the Internet, about the quality of the nation's doctors and hospitals -- details that were simply unavailable a decade ago." According to the Times, many of the "more sophisticated tools are still in their early stages, and the information they provide can be incomplete," but, with a "little homework, ... consumers can get their hands on all kinds of information" on the quality of physicians and hospitals. Read more >>
MEDICAL ERRORS INCREASE PHYSICIANS' STRESS LEVELS, STUDY FINDS
July 20, 2007 -- Kaiser Network -- Physicians who make or come close to making medical mistakes often experience an upswing in occupational stress, according to a survey released on Wednesday, the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports. Results of the survey will be published in the August edition of the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. Read more >>
HOW WILL BOOMERS PAY FOR LONG-TERM CARE?
July 20, 2007 -- Forbes -- Given the uncertain and expensive nature of long-term care, simple economic theory suggests that risk-averse individuals should purchase long-term care insurance. Paradoxically, the private long-term care insurance market remains small: In 2002, only about 6 million people had private long-term care insurance. If private long-term care insurance coverage remains limited, the welfare of the elderly will decline, as could the wealth of their adult children, due to onerous out-of-pocket spending on long-term care. Medicaid spending on long-term care will have to rise, putting enormous strain on government budgets, and the existing infrastructure, already suffering from low standards. Read more >>
FOR MEDICARE PATIENTS, THERE'S A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE
July 19, 2007 -- Dallas News -- The once-common practice of treating young and old alike at home gradually gave way decades ago to more cost-effective office visits. But experts say reviving physician home visits, at least for frail seniors, could reduce emergency room visits, shorten hospital stays, and help control the escalating health care costs of an aging population with chronic illnesses. Read more >>
OHIO HOME HEALTH-CARE WORKERS GET LABOR RIGHTS
July 18, 2007 -- Toledo Blade -- With a stroke of his pen yesterday, Gov. Ted Strickland extended collective-bargaining rights to about 7,000 nurses and other independent contractors working in Ohio's growing in-home health-care sector. Read more >>
The Tip of the Week Archive is available on the Ohio KePRO Web Site.
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