Article

Five Signs Revealing the Impact of Spreading COVID-19 on Mental Health

While the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic weighs differently on each person, there are specific ways it is impacting the mental health of most individuals around our world. are five indications that COVID-19 is pushing the U.S. toward a mental health crisis.

April 01, 2021

Article

Culture Change—How to Foster Agility

With the stress on the medical profession growing every day during the early days of the pandemic, it became clear that the ability to credential and privilege providers as quickly as possible was of the utmost importance. Agility and automation played a key role.

April 01, 2021

Article

The Open Payments Database: Not Just for Doctors Anymore!

The kinds of providers included in CMS’s Open Payments database will be expanded on January 1, 2021. This will impose new compliance requirements on healthcare providers, professionals, and applicable manufacturers and group purchasing organizations.

April 01, 2021

Article

Rethinking Healthcare Training for Diversity, Inclusion, and Bias

There’s a lot of work to be done to address healthcare challenges in diversity, inclusion, and bias. This blog post begins our series of excerpts from a Q&A with Jeremy Short, diversity expert, who is helping HealthStream develop learning courseware in this area.

April 01, 2021

Article

Using Antipsychotic Drugs in Long-Term Care Is Too Common

Use of antipsychotic medication in long term-care can be accompanied by serious side effects. A concerted effort is being made to reduce their use because “nondrug interventions appeared to be more effective than medications in reducing agitation and aggression in people with dementia.

April 01, 2021

Article

Despite COVID-19 Challenges, Long-Term Care Still Favored by Demographic Trends

COVID-19 is inspiring some creative solutions to the isolation imposed by COVID-19 on residents. Demographics tell us this sector will continue to be important despite current challenges.

April 01, 2021

Article

Coders and Physicians Eagerly Await E/M Coding Changes Arriving in January 2021

The Patients Over Paperwork (POP) Initiative continues to realign and restructure healthcare documentation requirements— on January 1, 2021, coders and clinicians who work with evaluation and management (E/M) coding, will see significant and eagerly awaited changes.

April 01, 2021

Article

Physical Rehabilitation vs. Restorative Healthcare

While very different, physical rehabilitation and restorative healthcare are complementary to one another. Restorative healthcare is essential to helping patients maintain the gains made through physical rehabilitation.

April 01, 2021

Article

Long-Term Care Industry Beset by Challenges but Favored by Demographic Trends

Despite wide ranging current challenges from the COVID-19 Pandemic, the broader outlook for the long-term care industry remains positive with a “demographic wave on the horizon that ensures strong demand for the needs-based asset class.”

April 01, 2021

Article

How New Technology in Nursing Is Improving the Quality of Care

Advances in technology, particularly, AI, have made nurses’ lives easier in many ways, allowing them to perform their jobs better and more efficiently while also improving patient outcomes.

April 01, 2021

Article

The Complexity of NCQA CVO Certification During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This post about NCQA CVO Certification will ensure you are ready for virtual surveys as long as the COVID-19 Pandemic makes them necessary. It also will facilitate your understanding of and success with NCQA CVO certification when and if onsite surveys by NCQA again become the rule.

April 01, 2021

Article

What is Myocarditis and how is it linked to COVID-19

There is a growing concern that one serious complication of COVID-19 in some of those affected is myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that can affect functioning and potentially lead to more severe long-term health problems like stroke and heart attack.

April 01, 2021

Article

Long-Term Care Feels Ongoing Impact from Civil Money Penalty Reimbursement Programs

Civil Money Penalties (CMPs) are imposed by CMS against nursing homes and other residential care facilities for failing to be in substantial compliance with one or more Medicare and Medicaid participation requirements for long-term care facilities.

April 01, 2021

Article

The methodology of restorative healthcare

Restorative healthcare can help patients retain the gains made in physical rehabilitation and maintain the skills associated with healthy, independent daily living. Here are some of the things restorative healthcare entails.

April 01, 2021

Article

The COVID-19 Pandemic Has People Thinking More About Home-Based Care

COVID-19 is definitely encouraging decision-makers to rethink older adult care. From a survey of approximately 1,000 family health care decision-makers, Home Health Care News reports that “Over 50% of family members are now more likely to choose in-home care.

April 01, 2021

Article

The Challenges of Maintaining Quality Outcomes Through Virtual Care

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the use of virtual healthcare has skyrocketed—to prevent infection and maintain care continuity during a pandemic. However, the healthcare industry is still working to confirm the link between virtual healthcare and care quality, as well as improved outcomes.

April 01, 2021

Article

Overcoming the Challenges of Fragmented Care

The United States healthcare system has grown increasingly fragmented. Those afflicted by chronic conditions may attend unnecessary appointments, receive confusing and contradictory advice from their doctors, struggle to get to the doctor’s office, and despair at exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses.

April 01, 2021

Article

During The COVID-19 Pandemic, Patient Outcomes Should Drive Decision-Making about Credentialing

Credentialing and licensure considerations may be taking a backseat to patient urgency during the COVID-19 crisis. At the same time we must make sure that patients are treated appropriately by having care delivered by professionals with the competency to help them.

April 01, 2021

Article

Should Providers Be Asked to Withdraw Requests for Privileges?

Many organizations have questions regarding privileging that relate to how privileging recommendations and decisions are made. One of the more common questions is: The provider does not meet our criteria for privileges – should I ask the provider to withdraw the request?

April 01, 2021

Article

How Changing Nurse Demographics Impact Cultural Sensitivity

Nurses play one of the most critical roles in healthcare—there are more nurses than any other profession in the healthcare industry. As the nursing workforce changes and becomes more diverse, their ability to provide culturally sensitive care will likely improve.

April 01, 2021