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August 14, 2018

Wearable Devices to Help Patients Sleep Better

Wrist-band based wearable devices are tools that insomnia sufferers and their doctors can use to help diagnose and treat several sleep problems. These devices detect movement, a measurement referred to by the scientific community as actigraphy.

July 30, 2018

What is Palliative Care?

Hospice and palliative care are often conflated, but there are important differences between them. Understanding these differences can help individuals and their caregivers choose appropriate treatment options.

July 12, 2018

Identifying and Managing the Social Determinants of Health

Health may happen in neighborhoods, but it is essential to remember that neighborhoods include homes where many residents live alone. Helping those residents live healthier lives may be as simple as visiting them at home.

June 7, 2018

The Impact of Home Care on Emergency Room Visits

In a large study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in April 2018, investigators found that patients receiving home care nursing visits were more likely to go to the emergency room after 5 pm on the day of a nursing visit than they would have been had there not been a home visit.

May 29, 2018

In-Home Care Services to be Covered by Medicare Advantage Plans

On April 2, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final Call Letter announcing expansion services covered by Medicare Advantage plans. Beginning in 2019, for the first time, Medicare Advantage benefits will include non-skilled home care services.

May 23, 2018

The Hospital At Home

Most Americans take it for granted that an acute-care hospital is available to them if they require surgery or become seriously ill. But this has been the case for only a relatively brief period of our history. Much routine medical care, and even some surgical care, was traditionally delivered in the patient’s home.

May 16, 2018

CareCentrix Receives NCQA Utilization Management Accreditation

CareCentrix, an industry leader in making home the center of patient care, announced its accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance in Utilization Management. NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality.

April 3, 2018

The Benefits of Infusion Chemotherapy at Home

The increasing number of Americans living with cancer suggests that enormous resources must now be devoted to fighting the disease. This comes as the patient-centered treatment movement has gathered momentum. As a result, a growing body of literature has emerged to address home-based treatments for cancer.

March 12, 2018

How MA Plans are Reducing Readmissions

How savvy Medicare Advantage (MA) planners have stayed ahead of the curve and have found innovative ways to reduce hospital readmissions.

March 6, 2018

Why Medicare Advantage Plans are Growing in Popularity

In the wake the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that placed various limits on Medicare Advantage (MA) managed care plans, enrollments have been steadily increasing. Today, one in three Medicare beneficiaries is enrolled in an MA plan. What explains this paradox?

February 27, 2018

How to Get Out of the Hospital

For many people who have been in the hospital for an illness or surgery, the best part of the experience is leaving the hospital. But leaving a hospital is not always simple and straightforward..

February 23, 2018

Palliative Care Clinicians Improve Care Coordination

Care coordination involves deliberately organizing patient care activities and sharing information among all of the participants concerned with a patient’s care to achieve safer and more effective care. This means that the individual’s needs and preferences are known ahead of time and communicated at the right time and to the right people.