Thanks for visiting the Health o meter® Professional blog! This blog is intended to be an educational resource for the healthcare community and to help create meaningful conversations about the multitude of changes occurring in the medical industry. We encourage you to share blog posts with other healthcare professionals.
The CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) states that “Before an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) can share in any savings generated, it must demonstrate that it met the quality performance standard for that year.”* One of the quality measures within those performance standards is “ACO-3 CAHPS: Patients’ Rating of Provider”.
The National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Farzad Mostashari has said although the nation has made great strides in healthcare IT, technology is not the only element that helps meet the goals of better patient care, improving Americans’ health and lowering healthcare costs. He says “Patients need to care for themselves and become partners in their care.”
An estimated 70% of the US population is overweight, and the US health system is inundated with patients who suffer from cardiac disease, diabetes and other medical issues caused or impacted by obesity. But physicians face the challenge of sensitively and effectively addressing obesity with their overweight patients.
Medical facilities utilize a multitude of diagnostic devices such as blood pressure cuffs, scales and thermometers. Traditionally, when a patient’s vital signs are taken, the data is written in their chart. But as more facilities are implementing Electronic Medical Records, practitioners are seeing the value of EMR connected medical devices.
Elderly patients (those older than 65 years) make up more than 40% of hospitalizations in the U.S. As the elderly population increases, this percentage will also increase, highly affecting the management of acute care facilities. Patient safety is always a concern in hospitals, but elderly patients are at a higher risk for functional decline during hospitalization.
In the past few years businesses have seen drastic cost increases for health insurance coverage for their employees. To help offset these costs, employers have started investigating the benefits of wellness programs.
What is Included in Employer Wellness Programs?
On January 7, 2016 the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Released every 5 years, these guidelines contain nutritional and dietary information and recommendations to help individuals choose a healthy diet and improve their overall health.
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), about 1 of 3 U.S. adults, or about 70 million people, have high blood pressure. Normal healthy blood pressure is defined as: a systolic pressure under 120 and a diastolic pressure under 80. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is defined as: a systolic pressure of 140 or higher and/or a diastolic pressure of 90 or higher.
In 2015, over 700 U.S. hospitals will be penalized for high rates of hospital acquired conditions (HAC). These penalties are part of the Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program that was established as part of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The program was started to give hospitals an incentive to reduce their rate of HACs.
Spring is here and with it comes many opportunities to nurture your health. Warmer weather and the rejuvenating spirit of the season can be motivating for improving your well-being. Here are some great activities you can incorporate into a healthy lifestyle while celebrating Spring!