Category: News & Media

State Releases Mass HIWay Implementation Grants Solicitation

The Massachusetts eHealth Institute (“MeHI”), a component of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (“Mass Tech Collaborative”), has just released an RFP offering grants to eligible applicants to fund projects that ‘catalyze connections’ to the Statewide Health Information Exchange (the Mass HIway) by migrating existing processes away from paper based exchanges and exchanges using proprietary interfaces to use the Mass HIway. This program, budgeted at $2M, will issue awards up to $75,000 each. The state is holding  on‐line information sessions for interested applicants on March 21 and March 27. Applications are due April 16th

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Best Around the (Home Care) Web III

Each week, the Alliance scours the blogosphere for the news affecting — and of interest to — the home care industry.  Here are highlights from this week:

Treating Older Veterans for PTSD and Dementia

Because post-traumatic stress syndrome can trouble veterans’ physical health, their emotional lives and their relationships (there is also a connection to dementia, researchers are finding), the Department of Veterans Affairs and veterans advocacy groups have made it their mission to inform service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan about their PTSD risk.

But older veterans tend to know less about the syndrome, even as it haunts many of them. Their generation had less experience with psychotherapy, which once carried a stigma. Even now, if they do seek help, they are likely to describe their problems as physical. — via the NYT’s New Old Age Blog

New Group to Advocate for Improved Interoperability Standards

Top executives from Allscripts, athenahealth, Cerner, Greenway and McKesson appeared on the same stage at HIMSS 2013 Monday to announce that they will collaborate to push for interoperability standards to enable advancements in patient data exchange. McKesson CEO John Hammergren and Cerner’s Neal Patterson joined colleagues Jonathan Bush, CEO athenahealth, and Tee Green, CEO Greenway, to introduce the CommonWell Health Alliance (commonwellalliance.org).

The organization will become operational early next year but wanted to announce its formation and publicize its mission statement during the March 3-7 HIMSS meeting. The five charter members expect that they will soon be joined by many others. “One of the key challenges we face is not just automated healthcare but connected and together care,” said McKesson’s Hammergren. “Data liquidity is necessary to make it happen.” —  Via, HomeHealth News Continue reading “Best Around the (Home Care) Web III”

CDC and CMS Alert – “Super-bug” CRE on the Rise

Infections with the deadly Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are on the rise in hospitals nationwide, and are a serious threat to public health according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Due to the movement of patients throughout the healthcare system, if CRE are a problem in one facility, then typically they are a problem in other facilities in the region as well as in the home. Home health agencies may want to alert staff about CRE and steps to take if an infection is suspected.

CDC and CMS Sound Alarm on “Nightmare” Bacteria

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and CMS are asking your assistance in tackling what may be one of the most pressing patient safety threats of our time—carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). CDC recently released a report on the presence of CRE in U.S. inpatient medical facilities, demonstrating that action is needed now to halt the spread of these deadly bacteria. We are asking for rapid action from healthcare leaders to ensure that infection prevention measures are aggressively implemented in your facilities and those around you.

Enterobacteriaceae are a family of more than 70 bacteria, including Klebsiella pneumoniae and E. coli, that normally live in the digestive system. Over time, some of these bacteria have become resistant to a group of antibiotics known as carbapenems, often referred to as last-resort antibiotics. During the last decade, CDC has tracked one type of CRE from a single healthcare facility to facilities in at least 42 states. In some healthcare facilities, these bacteria already pose a routine threat to patients.

CDC has released a concise, practical CRE prevention toolkit with recommendations for controlling CRE transmission in hospitals, long-term acute care facilities, nursing homes, and health departments. Key recommendations follow CDC’s “Detect and Protect” strategy, including:

  • Enforcing use of infection control precautions (standard and contact precautions).
  • Grouping patients with CRE together.
  • Dedicating rooms, staff, and equipment to the care of patients with CRE whenever possible.
  • Having facilities alert each other when patients with CRE transfer back and forth.
  • Asking patients whether they have recently received care somewhere else (including another country).
  • Using antibiotics wisely.

When fully implemented, CDC recommendations have been proven to work. Medical facilities in several states have reduced CRE infection rates by following CDC’s prevention guidelines.

The United States is at a critical point in our ability to stop the spread of CRE. If we do not act quickly, we will miss our window of opportunity and CRE could become widespread across the country.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Best Around the (Home Care) Web II

Each week, the Alliance scours the blogospherefor the news affecting the home care industry.  Here are highlights from this week:

Not All Procedures Are Created Equal: Top Five to Avoid

The Choosing Wisely campaign, an initiative by the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation in partnership with Consumer Reports… is an attempt to alert both doctors and patients to problematic and commonly overused medical tests, procedures and treatments.

It took an elegantly simple approach: By working through professional organizations representing medical specialties, Choosing Wisely asked doctors to identify “Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question.”

The idea was that doctors and their patients could agree on tests and treatments that are supported by evidence, that don’t duplicate what others do, that are “truly necessary” and “free from harm” — and avoid the rest.

Among the 18 new lists released last week are recommendations from geriatricians and palliative care specialists, which may be of particular interest to New Old Age readers. I’ve previously written about a number of these warnings, but it’s helpful to have them in single, strongly worded documents. — via, NYT New Old Age Blog

Are Video Games Therapeutic? Wii Think So!

Researchers asked 140 people aged 63 and older how often they played video games, if at all. The study participants then took a battery of tests to assess their emotional and social well-being. 61 percent of study participants played video games at least occasionally, with 35 percent of participants saying they played at least once per week.

The study found that participants who played video games, including those who only played occasionally, reported higher levels of well-being. Those who did not play video games reported more negative emotions and a tendency toward higher levels of depression. — via Medical News Today; original paper available for purchase here.

Skype Care: Families Prefer Check-ins By Video

For the study, 34 families were broken up into three groups: one receiving standard [pediatric] home healthcare, a web group receiving home healthcare supplemented with a web app; and a video group with home healthcare supplemented by Skype. Participating families and nursing staff completed questionnaires about the information and communication technology’s (ICT) usefulness.

The web application was easy to use, participants said, and Skype was useful for all surveyed, too. Nearly 90 percent said that video calls were better than regular phone calls. Meanwhile, 33 percent in the web group and 75 percent in the video group thought that home visits should be less frequent with the advent of Skype. Fifty percent in the web group and 100 percent in the video group said they felt more confident in caring for their child after using the technology. — via HCAF

Making Home Gardens Accessible For Seniors

It is now our turn as caregivers to share new, accessible gardens and the fulfillment of getting our hands dirty again with our senior loved ones as they age. Many seniors find that the effects of aging on joints, muscles and the freedom of movement have prohibited them from tending to their beloved gardens — via Senior Care Corner (includes a how-to video on making senior-friendly vertical planters).

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Best Around the (Home Care) Web

As a new feature, the Alliance will scour the blogosphere each week for the news affecting the home care industry.  Here are highlights from this week:

Prevent Falls with a Nightlight

Are you looking for a device that can help your loved one lower his or her risk of falling in the home? How about one that fits in the palm of your hand? Surprisingly this post isn’t about the latest generation of smart phones, but the good old-fashioned nightlight.  — VNSNY

CDC: Most Recent Flu Vaccine Ineffective For Seniors

This season’s flu vaccine was almost completely ineffective in people 65 and older, which could explain why rates of hospitalization and death have been some of the highest ever recorded for that age group, according to early estimates released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For people under 65, getting vaccinated this season reduced the need to go to the doctor for the flu by one-half to two-thirds.   — USA Today, via CommonHealthBlog

Talking to Seniors About ID Theft & Financial Security

Identity theft may never happen to one of your senior loved ones – – and we hope it does not. It’s so much easier to take protective steps up front than it is to repair the mess it can become afterward, however, that we should help the seniors in our lives consider and implement those steps. — via Senior Care Corner

Report: Alzheimer’s Cases Could Triple By 2050

Doctors, researchers and public health experts are already bracing for an onslaught of new patients by developing drugs and preparing caregivers for the emotional and physical stress.

“This is an issue that’s going to touch each of us personally or someone that we know and care about,” said Lora Connolly, director of the California Department of Aging, which expects to be serving as many as 1.2 million patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia in the state by 2030. “It won’t happen overnight, but the pressure will continue to mount.” — LA Times, via CommonHealth

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Nominate Your Best Nurses for Boston Globe Honors and Annual HCA Event

The Boston Globe will be running a special section called the “Salute to Nurses,” which will be a standalone broadsheet section appearing in The Boston Sunday Globe on May 5, 2013. This section will focus on the stories that readers submit, recognizing the impact nurses have on patients’ lives.

Over the past 11 years, thousands of people have found “Salute to Nurses” to be a meaningful and public place to give thanks to the nurses who have helped them or loved ones through difficult times.

Visit the Boston Globe’s online form and submit your best nurse stories and, for agencies, encourage your patients to do the same if they have had a exceptional experience. This is an excellent opportunity to shine a light on the work of home health nurses.

Another opportunity to spotlight the great work from nurses, aides, and other staff is to nominate them for a “Star Award,” which will be given out at HCA’s annual Innovations Showcase and Star Awards Ceremony on April 17th at the Revere Hotel in Boston.

See the posting on the Alliance’s Calendar of Events for more details.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Guest Post: Flu Activity

By: Donna Lazorik, RN, MS
Deputy Program Manager for Program Development, Immunization Program
Massachusetts Dept. Public Health

National Flu Activity

Flu activity continues to increase in the U.S., according to CDC’s latest FluView report.  “Reports of influenza-like-illness (ILI) are nearing what have been peak levels during moderately severe seasons,” according to Dr. Joe Bresee, Chief of the Epidemiology and Prevention Branch in CDC’s Influenza Division.  “Anyone who has not already been vaccinated should do so now,”

While the timing of flu seasons is impossible to predict, based on past experience it’s likely that flu activity will continue for some time.  During the past 10 seasons, ILI remained at or above baseline for an average of 12 consecutive weeks.  One factor that may indicate increased severity this season is that the predominant circulating type of influenza virus is influenza A (H3N2) viruses, which account for about 76% of the viruses reported.  Bresee explains “typically ‘H3N2 seasons’ have been more severe, with higher numbers of hospitalizations and deaths, but we will have to see how the season plays out.” Continue reading “Guest Post: Flu Activity”

Congratulations To Our Emerging Leaders

The 2012 graduates of the Emerging Leaders programThe 2012 graduates of the Emerging Leaders program
The 2012 graduates of the Emerging Leaders program

This week was Graduation Day for our 2012/13 Emerging Leaders Class. The Emerging Leaders program is a collaborative effort between the Home Care Alliance of MA and Suffolk University’s Moakley Center for Public Management.  Students in the program attend classes – taught by Suffolk faculty – one full day a month for nine months. Upon completing the program, they receive a Certificate in  Home Care Management, as well as course credits to apply towards a master’s level program at Suffolk.

In a ceremony attended by family, friends and faculty, the graduates heard from class speaker Michelle Landry about how the students bonded over, and overcame,  their fear of writing class papers and about the value of the course information.   Keynote Speaker Meg Doherty, CEO of NVNA and Hospice, congratulated the class on their commitment to learning and leadership despite the sacrifices made and the disruption to their lives and that of their families.  “As leaders,” she told the class, “you will not just do a job, but make a difference.”

Congratulations to this year’s graduation class:  Barbara Belony, Jose DeLaRosa, Janez Hicks, Michelle Landry, Mary O’Malley, Michelle Sweeney, Jenna Tarara, Bernadette Ward and Kathy Wisenski.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

OIG Report: ALJs Need Training

Not surprisingly to any agencies involved in the TPL project, a new report from the Office of Inspector General of the US Dept. of Health & Human Services found a range in inconsistencies and shortcomings in the Administrative Law Judge level of the Medicare appeal process.

A sampling of some of the findings of the study:

  • Two State Medicaid agencies [one of which clearly is Massachusetts] filed more than 500 appeals each in 2010.  Many ALJ staff raised concerns about these frequent filers, noting that some of these appellants appeal every payment denial, and pointing out that these appellants have an incentive to appeal because the cost is minimal and a favorable decision is likely
  • The fully favorable [ALJ coverage decision] rate varied substantially by appellant type. For providers, it was 61 percent. In contrast, the fully favorable rate was just 22 percent for State Medicaid agencies.
  • ALJs tended to interpret Medicare policies less strictly than QICs
  • The favorable rate varied widely by ALJ.  According to many ALJ staff, different philosophies among ALJs contribute to the variation in fully favorable rates. They said that given the same facts and the same applicable Medicare policy, some ALJs would make decisions that are favorable to appellants, while others would not.

The report’s recommendations to CMS and the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals include:

  • Develop and Provide Coordinated Training on Medicare Policies to
  • ALJs and QICs
  • Identify and Clarify Medicare Policies That Are Unclear and
  • Interpreted Differently
  • Standardize Case Files and Make Them Electronic
  • Revise Regulations To Provide More Guidance to ALJs Regarding
  • the Acceptance of New Evidence
  • Improve the Handling of Appeals From Appellants Who Are Also
  • Under Fraud Investigation and Seek Statutory Authority To Postpone
  • These Appeals When Necessary
  • Seek Statutory Authority To Establish a Filing Fee
  • Implement a Quality Assurance Process To Review ALJ Decisions
  • Determine Whether Specialization Among ALJs Would Improve Efficiency.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Boston Globe Letter on Home Health and Readmissions

The following was published in the Boston Globe on Sunday, November 11th:

To the Boston Globe:

A renewed attention on the part of the health care delivery system in general, and hospitals specifically, to keeping people who have been hospitalized from quickly returning is welcome and long overdue (“Hospitals look to lower readmission rates,” G section, Nov. 5). However, in focusing on some new programs and services, the story seemed to miss the solution with a long track record of success. For more than a century, home health care as delivered by visiting nurses and other professionals has been the most valuable and valid means to support patients and minimize complications following a stay in a hospital.

These nurses have knowledge about the patient’s health and what in the home environment may be an obstacle to a patient’s medical progress. Yet, our experience is that far fewer patients are referred for home health services than could benefit from them, generally because of a lack of understanding of qualifying rules for coverage.

As we broaden the post-acute-care safety net, it’s important to remember that visiting nurses, who heal and teach, are most successful at delivering what patients need to avoid a return hospital visit.

Patricia  Kelleher, Executive Director

Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts

Return to www.thinkhomcare.org.