10 questions for channeling change

In trying times, the best leaders ask questions that challenge conventional wisdom and shift a company’s strategy to match the business climate, writes author and entrepreneur William C. Taylor. Among his 10 questions for would-be agents of change: “Can your customers live without you?” and “Are you learning as fast as the world is changing?” These questions may not have universally correct answers, but “the leaders with the best answers win,” he writes.

How to: Prepare for RACs

Lori Brocato, RCM product manager at HealthPort, shares insight on how organizations can prepare for recovery audit contractors. Includes a video and further educational material.

CMS sets new guidelines for nursing homes

New guidelines from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services call for nursing homes to allow residents to make more choices regarding their care and to provide a warmer and welcoming environment, free of “institutional” trays for meals, overhead paging systems and big nursing stations. Nursing home inspectors will use the guidance, which went into effect this month, when deciding whether a facility is complying with federal regulations on quality care.

Home health industry growing rapidly

Home health care is a fast-growing business, as more seniors opt to stay at home rather than go to assisted living and because more children of elderly parents cannot provide in-home care after a hospitalization because of work demands. The personal and home-care aide industry will grow by more than 50 percent between 2006 and 2016 nationwide, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts.

Report rates top pediatric hospitals

U.S. News & World Report has released its annual America’s Best Children’s Hospitals report that identifies 160 top pediatric facilities nationwide. The report also ranks the top 30 hospitals in 10 different specialties and this year includes an “honor roll” recognizing the few hospitals that earned a spot in all 10 specialty rankings.

Patients return to barter system to pay for medical care

Patients who can’t afford health care are finding physicians willing to barter for payment of medical services instead. The barter exchange network ITEX has seen demand for health care service bartering increase by 20 percent in two years.

Former Senators pitch new bipartisan health plan

Four former U.S. senators have crafted a $1.2 trillion health reform plan that mandates health coverage for all Americans. Democrats Tom Daschle and George Mitchell, along with Republicans Bob Dole and Howard Baker, hope the plan contains elements that both political parties can support. The proposal would be paid for through a combination of spending cuts and tax increases.