Talyst » Acute Care News

‘Multifaceted Strategies’ Can Improve Medication Adherence Among Patients

Webmaster — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:13:00 +0000

DRUG STORE NEWS - Improving medication adherence will require bringing multiple methods together in order to be successful, Pharmacy Quality Alliance senior director for research and performance measurement David Nau said Tuesday in an education session at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ Pharmacy and Technology Conference in San Diego. Read More »

Four Marion County groups organize Medication Disposal Day

Webmaster — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:29:45 +0000

THE MARION STAR - Four local agencies with different interests but a common mission have collaborated to organize a Medication Disposal Day to get unused drugs of all kinds out of homes and off of the streets properly and safely. Read More »

L.A. County Supervisors Call for Increased Patient Safety Measures

Webmaster — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:34:50 +0000

LOS ANGELES TIMES - Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday ordered improvements intended to shore up patient safety at the county's hospitals and clinics after reviewing a study commissioned to look at malpractice payouts. Read More »

CMS Sets Funding Rules for Medicaid HIT Projects

Webmaster — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:12:48 +0000

GOVERNMENT HEALTH IT - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has published its final guidance to state Medicaid directors on what they can expect from the federal government in terms of funding support for their health IT activities, clearing the way for them to start-up programs for the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records. Read More »

McKinsey: Well-planned and executed health IT can save $40B annually

Webmaster — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:19:31 +0000

FIERCEHEALTH IT - If you caught FierceHealthPayer or FierceEMR last week, you would know that four major health insurance companies will offer their own financial incentives to providers to adopt and use EMRs and align their programs with the recently published CMS definition of "meaningful use." That likely will be a big help for the many hospitals and physician practices that wonder if their investments in health IT will pay off. Read More »

Higher Purpose: What Meaningful Use Means to Nurses

Webmaster — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:41:14 +0000

What does “meaningful use” mean to nurses? The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released final rules July 13 outlining the criteria hospitals and eligible providers must meet to be considered meaningful users of health information technology in order to receive their share of $27 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Electronic Health Record Incentive Program over the next 10 years. Nursing Spectrum asked Pat Wise, RN, MS, MA, vice president for healthcare information systems at the nonprofit Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, what nurses can expect as the initiative unfolds. Read More »

Bar-code technology can enhance patient safety

Webmaster — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:26:04 +0000

While its advantages have not yet been fully exploited in the hospital and community-pharmacy settings, bar-code systems of medication administration are being used to improve overall medication safety through verification that the right drug is being administered to the right patient at the right time. Read More »

Doctors Get Dose of Technology From Insurers

Webmaster — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:16:03 +0000

Health-insurance companies including Humana Inc. and Aetna Inc. are stepping into the race to equip doctors with high-tech patient records. Read More »

Institute for Safe Medication Practices: Drug Shortages ‘Unprecedented’

Webmaster — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:59:10 +0000

“Many people are telling me that in 30 years, it’s the worst they’ve ever seen it,” says Michael Cohen, president of the Institute for Safe Medical Practices. He’s talking about drug shortages, which pharmacists, doctors and nurses are telling him are at unprecedented levels. Read More »

CMS to start meaningful use incentive payments in May 2011

Webmaster — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:57:23 +0000

WASHINGTON – The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will begin to make meaningful use incentive payments to eligible physicians and hospitals as early as May 2011, according to a senior CMS official, who detailed steps the agency is taking to start up the incentive program. Read More »