Patient Advocacy an Integral Part of Nursing Culture
from Advance for Nurses
Advocacy. It's a concept that's established to support others and assist with speaking out on someone's behalf. Like at many hospitals, patient advocates at Adena Regional Medical Center, Chillicothe, Ohio, are an integral part of the overall community of caring and healing. Contributing a large part to the patient experience, the patient advocate acts as a liaison between the patient and healthcare provider and assists with a number of issues surrounding medicine, policies and the law. More

Preparing For Death: Hospice Patients Praise Counseling
from WUSA9
A new survey of 300 terminally ill cancer patients says counseling on end of life issues has made them happier and improved their quality of life. One of the researchers says they felt better knowing someone was treating them, and not just their tumor. More

CIGNA and Medical Clinic of North Texas Launce "Patient-Centered Medical Home" Pilot Program
from Forbes
CIGNA and Medical Clinic of North Texas are preparing to launch a pilot program that incorporates components of the medical home model based on a comprehensive, accountable and collaborative approach they believe will lead to improved patient access, better continuity and coordination of care, improved quality of care for patients, and lower medical costs. More

Study: How to Reform Medicaid DSH Program
from Healthcare Finance News
In a paper published recently in the journal Health Affairs, health policy researchers are proposing a new method of allocating Medicaid disproportionate-share hospital payments. More

Survey: Uninsured Diabetics Increasingly Turning to Free Clinics and Community Health Centers
from Direct Relief International
The nation's nonprofit community health centers and free clinics saw a 13 percent increase in uninsured patients with diabetes seeking care during the first six months of 2009 versus the same period in 2008, according to the results of a national survey released today by humanitarian medical aid organization Direct Relief International. More

Call for Annual Conference Presentations is Open! Free Registration You've spent years honing your skills as a patient advocate. Now share your experience and knowledge by speaking at the 2010 Annual Conference! All accepted proposals will receive a complimentary registration to the 2010 annual conference. The Call for Presentations has all the information you need to submit a speaker proposal for consideration. There are two easy ways to submit your session information: Download a complete copy of the 2010 Call for Presentations
from iHealthbeat
On Wednesday, the Federation of American Hospitals sent a letter asking federal health IT officials to drop proposals that would require health care providers to meet quality improvement targets in order to qualify for federal incentive payments, Modern Healthcare reports. More

National Healthcare Reinsurance Pool
from The Huffington Post
The delay until September of legislative action on health care reform provides a critically needed time out so that the Obama administration and legislators can hit the reset button. We are heading for increasing partisan rancor and a wasted opportunity unless the major players in this effort focus on the problem they are trying to solve and not the political points they are trying to score. More

Registering and Using the SHCA List Serv is Easy! Step 1: Sign Up today
from Healthcare Finance News
A new report issued this week by the General Accountability Office says Medicare reimbursement to physicians should be trimmed to account for efficiencies that occur when a physician treats the same beneficiary on the same day for multiple services. More