What’s causing medication errors, and what can your facility do to mitigate the risk of making them?  The wrong drug. The wrong formulation. The wrong label. The wrong frequency. The wrong duration. These are many ways that medication errors can happen.  And they do happen, frequently. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the organization receives more than 100,000 reports each year associated with a suspected medication error.  Of course, it’s not simply a matter of carelessness or ineptitude. Experts attribute medication errors to a number of factors, some ..read more

The leading cause of disability among adults in the United States is arthritis  Arthritis currently affects more than 50 million Americans, according to the Arthritis Foundation and nearly 300,000 babies and children are also said to be living with arthritis or a rheumatic condition and almost two-thirds of adults in the U.S. living with arthritis are of working age (18-64 years).1 Osteoarthritis, which affects an estimated 31 million Americans annually is the most common type of the condition, which is most common in general among patients who are also living with other chronic comorbid ..read more

Key discovery for patients taking numerous medications Scientists and pharmacists have long dreamed of a scenario in which they could prescribe and distribute different medications without fear of adverse interactions. Recent discoveries may move them ever closer to that goal. Thanks to the work of a team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), nanoparticles can be released in sequence under conditions similar to those in the human body. It is becoming much more common for patients to be treated with several different medications. It is often necessary for the patient to take them at fix ..read more

Organizations moving to de-escalate and prevent action against workers Recent events have prompted at least two organizations to make recommendations or statements regarding violence against healthcare workers.  The Joint Commission went first earlier this year, citing several sets of statistics.  “The need for using de-escalation techniques has become more prevalent as violence in health care settings increases,” read an article on their website. “De-escalation is a first-line response to potential violence and aggression in health care settings. The Centers for Disease Control and ..read more

Healthcare is a fast-paced world. Looking for an Advanced Practice job for healthcare professionals either as a Nurse or Physician Assistant can be stressful and confusing. Many times, health care professionals will not put their own wants and needs first and tend to overlook important details in a work environment that may not be so healthy. This will make or break their success in an organization. The key is to find a healthy work environment that will resonant with your life and career goals. Before looking for a job it’s best to take a mental inventory of yourself. Ask yourself these ques ..read more

Recently, my colleague wrote that the CMS’ Value-Based Purchasing incentives were working to reduce hospital-acquired conditions (HACs), according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). From 2014 to 2017, the overall rate of HACs had declined by 13%. Per AHRQ, 20,500 lives have been saved in that period, along with $7.7 billion in avoidable healthcare costs. In looking closer at the data, however, the rates for Pressure Injuries (PIs, also commonly referred to as Pressure Ulcers or Bed Sores) actually increased by 6% during that period. It was the only category of HACs meas ..read more

On January 29, 2019, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) released a report showing the changes in the incidences of hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) from 2014 to 2017. The good news and the headline is that overall, HACs have declined by 13% in that period. According to AHRQ, 20,500 lives have been saved in that period, along with $7.7 billion in avoidable healthcare costs. (The report can be found here: https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/professionals/quality-patient-safety/pfp/hacreport-2019.pdf.) Clearly, the value-based purchasing incentives initiated by ..read more

DOWNLOAD NOW Affecting approximately 10 million Americans, as well as about 3-6% of the world population According to the National Fibromyalgia Association, fibromyalgia affects approximately 10 million Americans, as well as about 3-6% of the world population. It disproportionately affects women – 75-90% of those affected are females, with diagnosis typically occurring between the ages of 20 and 50. However, fibromyalgia can also affect men, children, and those over the age of 50. What is Fibromyalgia and how is it diagnosed and treated? Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition that affects ..read more

What measures and means will be taken in the meantime? To the average person, Medicare is simply health insurance for people of retirement age. And while that description is incomplete, it isn’t wrong either. But where the understanding of the program begins to erode is in discussing funding for Medicare—it’s not as simple as “American tax dollars pay for healthcare for the elderly.” In reality, Medicare is divided into four parts: Medicare Part A: funded primarily by payroll taxes, which end up in the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. Medicare Part B: where revenue comes from both general reven ..read more

Findings surprising in light of the importance of rehab for stroke patients Medicare-covered stroke patients receive vastly different amounts of physical and occupational therapy during hospital stays despite evidence that such care is strongly associated with positive health outcomes. The research team at Brown University was led by Amit Kumar, who serves as an adjunct assistant professor at Brown’s School of Public Health. The study analyzed Medicare claims data from 2010 for over 100,000 stroke patients. While some 15 percent of patients received no physical therapy (PT) or occupational th ..read more