A financial assessment may be time-consuming and difficult, as many patients are reluctant to inform the case manager of the financial risks they face, but it is critical to assisting patients meet the most basic of needs.
Research has shown that untreated depression in hospitalized patients may affect patient outcomes, including recovery and the likelihood of readmission after discharge. Screening for depression can help spot the problem and help patients get needed treatment.
A recent study published in Healh Affairs claims that reductions in readmission rates reported as due to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) are “illusory or overstated.”
Geriatric patients with frequent emergency department (ED) use are more likely to have comorbidities, be admitted or transferred, and visit three or more hospitals in a year than less frequent ED users, a recently published study in the Annals of Emergency Medicine found.
Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions, and the total cost of limited health literacy to the U.S. healthcare system is estimated at $50–73 billion.
On January 8, CMS released MLN Matters SE19002 on status determinations for total knee arthroplasty, which included guidance on how to determine proper status for patients undergoing the procedure, but CMS quickly rescinded it and announced that it is making revisions and will reissue it in the near future.
