Home Care News and Research

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First Edition: June 19, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about how the 2015 insurance premium rates are shaping up across the country and details of consumers' experiences in trying to get their new coverage.

19 Jun 2014

Counseling, medication management by pharmacist can lower hospital readmissions

Getting discharged from the hospital and then having to go right back in again can be emotionally draining for a patient and their family. It can also cause financial strain for all involved - the patient, the hospital system and the insurers-including Medicaid and Medicare, which are taxpayer funded.

19 Jun 2014

EHOB announces release of Position Perfect System

EHOB, Inc., a leading provider of affordable products effective in the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers, is announcing today the release of the Position Perfect System. Designed as a unique turning, transferring and positioning system, it not only complies with facility turning protocols but also protects patients from added pressure and shearing forces.

18 Jun 2014

Five Points Healthcare announces acquisition of BestCare Home Care

Five Points Healthcare announced that it acquired BestCare Home Care on April 30, 2014. BestCare is a home health provider of Medicare-certified, Medicaid-waiver and personal care services throughout Northern and Western Virginia.

18 Jun 2014

Infection prevention and control guidance prioritizes strategies to combat MRSA

New guidelines aim to reduce the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), improve patient safety and prioritize current prevention efforts underway in hospitals. This drug resistant bacterium is a common source of patient morbidity and mortality in U.S. hospitals, causing nearly twice the number of deaths, significantly longer hospital stays and higher hospital costs than other forms of the bacteria.

11 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: The case for doctors making house calls; the measles threat; the VA's value

At a time when burdensome restrictions enacted in Republican-led states are threatening women's access to abortion care, it is all the more vital that courts scrutinize phony claims that new laws actually protect women's health and safety (Dorothy J. Samuels, 6/4).

6 Jun 2014

UnityPoint Health - Cedar Rapids selected to join Mayo Clinic Care Network

UnityPoint Health - Cedar Rapids is the first health care organization in Iowa to be selected to join the Mayo Clinic Care Network, a national network of like-minded organizations that share a commitment to better serving patients and their families.

16 May 2014

Kindred Healthcare proposes to acquire all outstanding shares of Gentiva

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. ("Kindred" or the "Company") today announced a proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Gentiva Health Services, Inc.

15 May 2014

Viewpoints: Access to abortion in Virginia; patient habits and health costs; 'little states that couldn't'

As a candidate last year, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) promised to do what he could to roll back absurd, baldly political rules imposed on the state's abortion clinics with the transparent purpose of forcing many of them to close.

15 May 2014

Kindred's consolidated revenues increase 2% to $1.30 billion in Q1 2014

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. today announced its operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014.

7 May 2014

Gentiva’s net revenues increase $487.5M to 17% in Q1 2014

Gentiva Health Services, Inc., one of the largest providers of home health, hospice and community care services in the United States, today reported first quarter 2014 results.

7 May 2014

Surgical site infection guidelines provide real-world strategies to reduce number of infections

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are the most common and costly healthcare-associated infection (HAI) in the United States.

7 May 2014

New expert guidance encourages healthcare institutions to implement prevention efforts infectious diarrhea

With rates of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) now rivaling drug-resistant Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as the most common bacteria to cause healthcare-associated infections, new expert guidance encourages healthcare institutions to implement and prioritize prevention efforts for this infectious diarrhea.

7 May 2014

Some Medicare beneficiaries have trouble getting extended nursing and therapy services

Under a 2012 court settlement, the Department of Health and Human Services agreed to relax rules that said seniors could get these services only if they continued to improve. But many providers are still unaware of the new regulations.

30 Apr 2014

MedScope partners to provide PERS devices and services to Visiting Angels' franchisees

MedScope, the leading provider of high-tech medical alert systems, and Visiting Angels, one of the nation's largest in-home care companies, have jointly announced a partnership to provide MedScope's full array of Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) devices and services to Visiting Angels' franchisees.

28 Apr 2014

State highlights: Home care workers' pay and Medicaid budgets; Calif. mental health grants; NYU ER reopens

A new rule from the Obama administration designed to provide better pay and working conditions to 2 million home care workers is forcing many states to rethink how they look at Medicaid payments and may result in higher Medicaid costs. Starting Jan. 1, home care workers in 29 states will, for the first time, be eligible for the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and overtime pay, under a new regulation from the U.S. Department of Labor. These workers go to homes of the elderly and the disabled to help with cooking, bathing and other daily tasks, and are paid by the clients or through Medicaid (Prah, 4/25).

26 Apr 2014

State highlights: Tenn. may send addicted moms to jail; Hawaii autism coverage; Florida medical marijuana

Pregnant women addicted to illegal narcotics or prescription pain pills could soon be jailed in Tennessee under a bill awaiting the governor's signature.

23 Apr 2014

Sharing clinical information with other health systems helps avoid diagnostic tests and procedures

An Allina Health study published in the current issue of the journal Applied Clinical Informatics showed that a significant number of diagnostic tests and procedures can be avoided if clinicians exchange health information with other health systems.

22 Apr 2014

Highlights: N.Y.'s $8B Medicaid waiver; Conn. Medicaid application delays settlement; managed care overpayment in Washington state

New York and federal officials report final agreement allowing the state to reinvest $8 billion in Medicaid savings to support hospital overhauls and expand primary medical care over the next five years. The goal of the Medicaid waiver is to reduce avoidable hospital use by 25 percent while helping financially struggling hospitals shift to more primary and outpatient care (4/14).

16 Apr 2014

New policies needed to address the growing demands of Alzheimer's disease

To address the burgeoning demands of Alzheimer's disease that will affect generations, new policies will have to be adopted to acknowledge the complex and unique needs of people with dementia.

9 Apr 2014

Home Care News and Research

First Edition: June 19, 2014

Counseling, medication management by pharmacist can lower hospital readmissions

EHOB announces release of Position Perfect System

Five Points Healthcare announces acquisition of BestCare Home Care

Infection prevention and control guidance prioritizes strategies to combat MRSA

Viewpoints: The case for doctors making house calls; the measles threat; the VA's value

UnityPoint Health - Cedar Rapids selected to join Mayo Clinic Care Network

Kindred Healthcare proposes to acquire all outstanding shares of Gentiva

Viewpoints: Access to abortion in Virginia; patient habits and health costs; 'little states that couldn't'

Kindred's consolidated revenues increase 2% to $1.30 billion in Q1 2014

Gentiva’s net revenues increase $487.5M to 17% in Q1 2014

Surgical site infection guidelines provide real-world strategies to reduce number of infections

New expert guidance encourages healthcare institutions to implement prevention efforts infectious diarrhea

Some Medicare beneficiaries have trouble getting extended nursing and therapy services

MedScope partners to provide PERS devices and services to Visiting Angels' franchisees

State highlights: Home care workers' pay and Medicaid budgets; Calif. mental health grants; NYU ER reopens

State highlights: Tenn. may send addicted moms to jail; Hawaii autism coverage; Florida medical marijuana

Sharing clinical information with other health systems helps avoid diagnostic tests and procedures

Highlights: N.Y.'s $8B Medicaid waiver; Conn. Medicaid application delays settlement; managed care overpayment in Washington state

New policies needed to address the growing demands of Alzheimer's disease

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

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