When MEDITECH released their latest statistics for their Canadian operations, there were two eye-popping numbers:

• 47% market share; and
• 35 years investing in the Candian EHR market

Every nurse has their own story of how and why they got into healthcare. Providing compassionate patient care requires a sense of purpose that helps create personal connections and results in meaningful experiences. For me, the intimate nature of the nurse-patient relationship changed my life and still drives my commitment to serving the needs of the Sparta, IL community. 

Expectant mothers present a unique set of challenges for the providers who care for them; aside from their own health, clinicians are also tracking and responding to the needs of their unborn babies.

If your organization is a Provider-Led Entity that orders advanced diagnostic imaging services for Medicare patients, preparing to meet requirements for imaging appropriate use criteria (IAUC) is likely to be high on your priority list. CMS expects a variety of outpatient settings, including physician offices and emergency departments, to begin educating staff and testing operations for AUC authorization as of January 1, 2020, with the goal of fully implementing the process by January 1, 2021.

As physicians, we often don’t see the harm that opioid pain medications can cause to the individual, whether through side effects, dependence, or diversion. Also, we may not always consider the implications on the national scale; prescription drug overdose deaths have increased exponentially from 2013 to 2016. The magnitude of this crisis has led to pain management guidelines from numerous entities, such as the Joint Commission and the CDC. These recommendations provide a solid foundation for opioid stewardship and are now considered to be best practice.  

In order to build healthier communities and improve population health management, providers need information about a patients’ health that goes beyond clinical factors. 

How can we achieve this? 

National Recovery Month  sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is observed every September to educate Americans that substance use treatment and mental health services can enable those with mental and substance use disorders to live healthy, rewarding lives.

The rapid pace of change in healthcare today doesn’t just necessitate better technologies to keep pace; it also requires better communication. Whether it involves conversations between patients and physicians, handoffs between clinicians of different specialties, interoperable data exchange, or even the ability of care organizations to connect with their IT vendors - clear communication is often what makes the difference between a good outcome, and a poorer one.

Among the many tasks that nurses face, one of the most challenging — and rewarding — is supporting mothers through childbirth. 

Because labor and delivery can be unpredictable, requiring nurses to monitor and interpret lots of data while managing their patients safely, it’s critical that they have all the information they need to make the right clinical decisions.

Home Health agencies across the United States are preparing for the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) that will create new requirements for the Home Health industry.

Last month on the MEDITECH News page, we covered Low Utilization Payment Adjustment (LUPA) and the Home Health Resource Group (HHRG) vs. Health Insurance Prospective Payment System (HIPPS).