Offering yoga and meditation classes to caregivers of seriously ill patients just prior to starting clinical meetings on palliative care issues is one detail that sets Mount Sinai Hospital’s palliative care program apart from others. Together with Denver Hospice and Optio Health Services in Colorado, and UnityPoint Health Palliative Care Program in Iowa and Illinois, these three palliative care programs received the 2013 Circle of Life Award®, along with five others that were awarded Citations of Honor from the American Hospital Association (AHA).
Other programs involve a community-wide program to embrace the growing Hispanic community, and regular outpatient and home visits to ensure proper care transitions, and help avoid unnecessary emergency room visits and readmission to the hospital. All of the programs set out to reexamine the roles palliative care plays in healthcare by creating and championing end-of-life care for patients and caregivers throughout the healthcare system.
Providers need to reexamine certain diabetes monitoring practices that solely target acute individuals, and instead take a population health management approach to improving diabetes care, according to a Phytel study published in the American Journal of Managed Care.
Researchers found that despite national attention, uncontrolled diabetes was growing, and those patients at real risk were those that waited to seek care until their condition was exacerbated to an acute phase. A broader population-based approach was required to catch at-risk patients. Researchers recommend that provider organizations take two important steps to improve their ability to help their patients better manage their diabetes, including reaching out to their entire population between office visits so patients waiting too long to get retested are motivated to have the testing done earlier.
Economists need to reexamine their data linking the employment rate with healthcare coverage. Despite economic reports showing that the recession is over, the percentage of workers with health benefits still remains low, according to a new report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).
Links between the employment rate and health insurance coverage have been documented over the years. Since most workers in the United States get their health coverage through their jobs, a rise or drop in the unemployment rate usually means a corresponding rise or drop in the uninsured rate as well, the report states.
But these facts aren’t holding up against trends that show that nearly half of the population does not have coverage.
We’d like you to examine and respond to our current e-survey on the population health management of dual eligibles. These nine million Americans eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid present unique challenges. Public and private payors are now tailoring care coordination strategies for Medicare-Medicaid beneficiaries that are both geared to their medical, social and functional needs and cost-efficient. Describe your organization’s approach to care coordination of dual eligibles by August 6, 2013 and you will receive a free summary of survey results once it is compiled.
Skyrocketing private exchange participation rates — industry estimates predict more than 40 million people may be enrolled in private insurance exchanges within three years — carry implications for health insurers in terms of how the various market segments are succeeding or failing to attract business.
