Food insecurity is a common problem in the United States, affecting as many as one in eight Americans. It’s a problem that can cause health complications, compound existing ones, and ratchet up the cost of care for many patients.
Addressing food insecurity in high-risk, elderly patients not only helps the people who receive the benefit but would also likely help the Medicare program save money, according to a recent report.
Case managers have long faced challenges related to caring for patients who are affected by social determinants of health. These factors have become even more of an issue since the implementation of healthcare reform, with the introduction of accountable care organizations and other innovative projects.
The most important means of identifying and documenting social determinants of health (SDoH) is establishing a strong patient screening program. Recording codes for SDoHs in the medical record can be time-consuming, so streamlining your screening process can make this job less arduous and more accurate.
Older adults are dying from falls in increasing numbers, according to a June 4 research letter published in JAMA. For reasons that aren’t yet clear, the number of adults age 75 and older who died from a fall rose from 8,613 in 2000 to 25,189 in 2016.
Oversight of the practice of case management is a complex process. A number of moving parts must be factored in, including education, credentialing, and professional qualifications.
The field of case management is rapidly evolving as hospital leaders look to case managers to help them meet a host of new regulatory requirements and financial goals. But too often this has put undue pressure on case managers and taken focus off their most important job—coordinating care.
