Nurses typically have the most contact with patients, meaning they are likely in the best position to be their voice in discussions about their plan of care with doctors, support staff and even family members.
The core ideology of patient advocacy is ensuring the patient’s satisfaction and safety, while advocating for their best interest. Here are four tips you can use to be strong patient advocates.
Unclear or inadequate communication is frustrating, but communication breakdowns can be downright dangerous when it comes to patient care.
In large hospitals and medical centers where information is exchanged between multiple departments, there is an even greater risk that crucial details won’t reach the right person in a timely manner. Unfortunately, this can lead to poor outcomes and even death.
A violation of HIPAA regulations, even if the infraction is accidental, can be costly.
If HIPAA rules are unintentionally violated, the Office for Civil Rights assesses a $100 fine per offense. If the infraction was willful and no attempt was made to correct the problem, the fine can escalate to $50,000.
HIPAA violations can cost your institution thousands of dollars and damage the relationships you’ve worked so hard to establish with your patients. These tips can help you ensure HIPAA compliance and keep patient information safe.
In this era of patient-centered care, motivating patients to take charge of their health care is more important than ever. Patients who take a more active role in managing their health are more likely to stick to treatment plans and often experience an improved quality of life.
This five-step guide will help you how to promote patient independence and teach patients how to become more autonomous.
The Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) incentive program and Meaningful Use have been controversial since their establishment in 2010. The popular opinion was they placed too much importance on patient data and not enough on the actual patients.
The good news is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recognized the flaws in the system and announced in January 2016 that Meaningful Use as it currently existed would be discontinued.
Read on to learn what brought about this reform and how it could impact your practice.
