Written on November 15th, 2011 by tasha
The Medicare Open Enrollment period is earlier this year than in the past. Open enrollment closes this year on December 7th. During this window, Medicare beneficiaries with ancillary coverage (Plan D for medications, Medi-gap supplemental insurance, and/or Medicare Advantage Plans) can change plans. We have an article describing the difference between these plans in the November/December issue of our brandable newsletter aimed at family caregivers.
The trick with open enrollment is how to know if the current plan is worthwhile, and what, if any, would be better?
Here are 5 online tools to help your clients make these decisions:
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Tags: e-patient, Medicare
Posted in Elder Care, Technology
Written on March 2nd, 2011 by tasha
The National Transitions of Care Coalition (NTOCC) has put together a superb, evidence-based crosswalk detailing essential elements needed for a successful program that eases a patient’s move from one care setting to another. Included in the document are seven intervention categories with descriptions and examples based on a very large compendium of research the coalition generously makes available free to the public.
As you have no doubt heard by now, CMS will be penalizing doctors and hospitals that have high 30-day readmission rates. A recent study demonstrated that within a month of discharge, over 20% of Medicare beneficiaries were re-hospitalized for the same condition they had been treated for earlier. This has been very costly for Medicare (and therefore us taxpayers!). The thinking is that patients are being released before they are fully stabilized, or being released to a home situation that is unable to cope with the demands of their serious condition.
The penalty is designed as an incentive to be sure patients are being discharged responsibly with adequate follow-up care. (Amen to that! Too often family members are called upon to perform fairly complicated care regimens with little to no training, or choice in the matter.)
This new penalty provides an excellent opportunity for elder care professionals to collaborate with doctors and hospitals by offering a home care team that is able to provide the necessary coaching and support to patients and their families.
There is a strong patient/family empowerment intent on the part of CMS. I’m pleased to say that my clients and those who read my blog share this ethic, which is also a key component in NTOCC’s outline. Since our mission is to help families and providers make better use of the Internet for superior care, I’ve included empowering tech suggestions here within this synopsis of the coalition’s crosswalk.
If you are planning to present yourself as a partner-in-care, here are the 7 intervention categories recommended to create a successful care transitions program:
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Tags: Care continuum, Elder Pages Online
Posted in Collaboration, Elder Care
Written on November 3rd, 2010 by tasha
I have just returned from the Western Region Conference of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers. Great speakers and great insights! I had the pleasure of connecting with Viki Kind, MA, a bioethicist, medical educator and fellow hospice volunteer. She’s a data gal, like me, so we have that in common as well.
Viki is the author of Caregiver’s Path to Compassionate Decision Making, a thoughtful and heartfelt book that makes bioethics understandable “for the rest of us.” In very accessible language, she walks through the steps of resolving those frequently heart-rending decisions families face when a loved one is not capable of deciding for themselves due to dementia, mental illness, or developmental delays. She has such a human, and often humorous, way of conveying complicated concepts, that I have invited her to be a guest blogger and share her insights about helping a family make decisions regarding life support, in this case CPR.
Enjoy her post!
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Posted in Elder Care, Family Caregivers
Written on October 19th, 2010 by tasha
The field of elder care technology for the home is booming. With so many options, the choices can be overwhelming! Laurie Orlov, magnificent Age in Place Technology blogger, recently gave a webinar that presented the best overview I’ve seen in a long time. I found Laurie’s framework to have a very clean simplicity to it that has the ring of real utility. For even as the technologies evolve, her paradigm can help you categorize and keep all the devices and services mentally in context. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: AARP, Aging in place
Posted in Elder Care, Research Results, Technology
Written on October 5th, 2010 by tasha
My own nearby city of San Francisco is the host to the National PACE Association conference this year. I am currently writing from the gorgeous Hyatt Regency with a twinkly city view before me. Exhausting day, as it often is at a conference. So much information and so many inspired people to learn from! But this one gives me a special kind of optimism because the PACE model is so, well, all-inclusive.
PACE stands for Program for All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly. One way to describe it is hospice for frail elders who are not terminally ill, but who meet the criteria for nursing home placement.
Like hospice, the PACE model revolves around an inter-disciplinary team (IDT) and includes family members in their services. The professional side of the team involves doctors, nurses, social workers, physical therapists—even dentists! Some PACE programs have chaplains as well. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Care continuum, PACE
Posted in Collaboration, Elder Care, Family Caregivers
