Home Care News and Research

RSS

Omni Home agrees to pay the United States $1.97 million to settle claims

Omni Home Care, a home health care agency in Evansville, Ind., and its parent corporation, Omni Home Health, have agreed to pay the United States $1.97 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act between 2006 and 2008, by failing to obtain certain required physician approvals before submitting bills for home health services to Medicare, the Justice Department announced today.

21 Oct 2009

Study reveals the cost effectiveness of Rheos blood pressure lowering device

A study conducted by the University of Rochester Medical Center demonstrates that, for certain patient populations, an experimental device that lowers blood pressure may be a cost effective treatment. The implantable device, called Rheos, is in advanced stages of testing for individuals with drug resistant hypertension.

19 Oct 2009

NAHC completes BlackBerry Report

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) today announced the completion of The BlackBerry® Report: The National State of the Home Care Industry Study.

15 Oct 2009

Senator Snowe's continued fight to ensure stable Medicare funding for seniors praised

The long term care sector's ongoing concern with deep Medicare cuts, in conjunction with the state Medicaid funding crisis fueled by the recession, was reflected in Senator Snowe's comments on the Senate Finance Committee health care reform package. We thank her for focusing much-needed attention on the unique challenges our sector faces in the continued provision of quality care to the vulnerable patients we serve in Maine and across the nation.

15 Oct 2009

VNACJ implements Celio Corp’s REDFLY Mobile Companion and Homecare Homebase Software to improve patient care

For Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey (VNACJ), mobility is everything. To effectively provide and document the best in-home care and rehabilitation for newly discharged hospital and in-home patients they need mobile technology that complies with federal regulations and allows them to effectively document and track patient information. They found a solution in Celio Corp’s REDFLY Mobile Companion and Homecare Homebase Software.

13 Oct 2009

Diagnostics industry in Asia Pacific poised to present more growth opportunities

The global diagnostics industry has witnessed strong growth over the past few years. According to Frost & Sullivan, the diagnostics and monitoring sectors are poised to present more growth opportunities. According to Nitin Naik, Vice President of Frost & Sullivan's Asia Pacific Medical Technologies Division, the diagnostics and monitoring sectors in Asia Pacific are projected to provide more growth opportunities on the basis of the technology spending being channelled in these areas (80 percent).

13 Oct 2009

New OASIS-C products to meet extensive regulatory changes mandated by CMS

Briggs, a leading provider of solutions to improve clinical outcomes and reduce operating costs in the home care market, today announced new OASIS-C products to meet extensive regulatory changes mandated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

13 Oct 2009

Sandata Technologies and Allscripts sign agreement to implement Santrax

Sandata Technologies, Inc., a leading nationwide provider of information technology solutions to the home healthcare and social services communities, today announced an agreement with Allscripts the leader in software, services, information, and connectivity solutions for physicians, hospitals and post-acute providers, making Santrax the preferred electronic time and attendance provider for current and future home care agency clients of Allscripts.

13 Oct 2009

RelayHealth networks 50 health systems and hospitals to facilitate health information exchange

RelayHealth, a leading provider of healthcare connectivity services, today announced that 50 health systems and hospitals are now contracted for its solutions to facilitate health information exchange (HIE) and care coordination.

12 Oct 2009

Press Ganey releases report on home care patient satisfaction

Home health care providers serve many chronically ill patients in the country, and a new report released today finds an upward trend in overall home care patient satisfaction. Press Ganey Associates, Inc., the leading provider of healthcare improvement solutions, has announced the results of the annual 2009 Home Care Pulse Report: Patient Perspectives on American Health Care.

12 Oct 2009

Health policy research roundup

Urban Institute: Variation in Insurance Coverage Across Congressional Districts New Estimates from 2008 -- Drawing from data from the American Community Survey, the authors of this brief explore the variation in rates of uninsurance, public and private coverage across congressional districts.

9 Oct 2009

Health care varies significantly among states, Study finds

A new Commonwealth Fund study shows wide disparities in health care across states.

8 Oct 2009

New Everyware Medical Gateway solution to remotely monitor treatment for diabetic patients

Eurotech Group, a leading supplier of embedded technologies, products, and systems, announces today the Everyware(TM) Medical Gateway designed to help physicians remotely monitor and adjust the treatment of their diabetes patients.

8 Oct 2009

Needlestick injuries in home care nursing can also affect patients

Patients continue to enter home healthcare ''sicker and quicker," often with complex health problems that may require extensive nursing care. This increases the risk of needlestick injuries in home healthcare nurses.

8 Oct 2009

Politics, payment plans and potential lawsuit costs

Recent state developments include the prominent place health care is taking in New Jersey's governor's race, criticism of a payment plan for hospitals in Massachusetts and the potential cost of lawsuits in California.

6 Oct 2009

Ankota releases Healthcare Delivery Management software

Ankota, Inc. a Baltimore, MD-based software company, announced today the release of the Ankota Healthcare Delivery Management (HDM) software suite for Home Medical Equipment (HME), Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and Respiratory Therapy (RT).

6 Oct 2009

Nursing home industry: New funding cuts will force closures

"The nation's nursing homes are perilously close to laying off workers, cutting services — possibly even closing — because of a perfect storm wallop from the recession and deep federal and state government spending cuts, industry experts say," The Associated Press reports.

5 Oct 2009

BronxRHIO to deploy Axolotl's health information exchange solutions

The Bronx Regional Health Information Organization today announced that it has signed an agreement with Axolotl Corp., the nationwide leader in health information exchange (HIE) solutions and services. The BronxRHIO, a not-for-profit organization established by the borough’s leading healthcare organizations, will deploy Axolotl’s Elysium® Exchange suite of solutions to enable healthcare providers to securely access and share clinical information, with a goal of reducing healthcare costs and improving the quality of patient care.

5 Oct 2009

Lawmakers urged to defend adequate Medicare funding to protect most vulnerable constituents' care

As October 1, 2009 signals the beginning of the new fiscal year 2010, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) said cuts of up to $16 billion over ten years to Medicare funded nursing home care being put into effect today by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) must be taken into account by U.S. Senate and House leaders as they continue to refine the financing details of their respective health care reform bills.

5 Oct 2009

BUSM's geriatrics clerkship meets all the ambulatory core geriatric competencies

As the population ages, it is imperative that medical students are prepared to treat older adults, regardless of their specialty. Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) report that an interdisciplinary multisite fourth-year geriatrics clerkship, has successfully met all the ambulatory core geriatric competencies as outlined by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) working group.

3 Oct 2009