Avoid New Hospital Stay

Posted by: admin on: April 4, 2012

Returning to the hospital after you have been treated and released is costly and in many cases, avoidable.

-Team@CMHF

 

  • Patients return to the hospital for many reasons.
  • Sometimes, they catch a new bug while hospitalized or they fail to manage their diseases properly after their release.
  • The biggest culprits are chronic diseases such as congestive heart failure, heart disease, asthma, emphysema and substance abuse, experts say.
  • Depending on your insurance, a stay can eat into your deductible or rack up out-of-pocket expenses.
  • Most individuals with commercial insurance (not Medicare or government plans) have a $500 to $1,000 hospital co-pay, according to Eric A Coleman, director of the Care Transitions program at the University of Colorado, which helps patients move between different settings.
  • Then there’s the time you or a caregiver need to take off work to deal with a hospitalization, or the expense from changes to your medication regimen.
  • Of course, in many cases, the hospital is the best place to be.
  • Some re-admissions represent good care that we don’t want to prevent, says Nancy Foster, vice president of quality and patient safety at the American Hospital Association.
  • However, if you have been successfully treated and released, here are some tips to help keep you recovering at home and keep your medical bills down.
  • Avoid going: Sometimes when you are sick and scared, heading to the ER is the first thing that comes to mind.
  • But often, urgent-care clinics or even your primary-care provider can be more appropriate places depending on your condition, says Dr Coleman.
  • For instance, confusion over medications, high blood pressure or diabetes management can be handled in a clinic or doctor’s office.
  • They might be more willing to treat you and let you go home, he says, adding that an ER visit might last four to eight hours while an urgent-care visit can last one to two hours.
  • But Dr Coleman adds that things like chest pain, trouble breathing or sudden change in mental status should be treated in the ER.
  • Manage your medications: Keep an accurate medication list with you wherever you go.
  • That will help avoid errors in the hospital and once you get home, says Pat Rutherford, vice president at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
  • Some heart medications, for instance, can keep patients from going back to the hospital if taken correctly, says Gregg Fonarow, professor of cardiovascular medicine at UCLA.
  • Some patients have 14 medications. They have to get these completely right to avoid hospitalization they need to be aware of dosing, time of day and changes to the regimen.
  • Bring support. It’s hard for patients to take in exactly what is expected of them upon discharge.
  • Hospitals try to offer tons of information in the last 11 minutes, and it’s hard to process in a way that’s useful, says Dr Coleman.
  • Having a family member, friend or other advocate with you when you are discharged can help you understand the doctor’s instructions.
  • Ask what symptoms you should watch for and what steps you should take if symptoms come back, says Ms. Rutherford.
  • Follow up. Book a checkup with your doctor sooner rather than later. Prepare for the visit with the doctor by having a list of questions ready. Make sure to ask them at the beginning of the visit, says Dr. Coleman.
  • Eat right. Managing your diet can be almost as important as your medications for treating chronic conditions, says Ms. Foster.
  • Also, some medications don’t interact well or lose their effectiveness when taken with certain foods. That can lead symptoms to flare up and land you in the hospital again.

For further reading log on to
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304537904577279373288380832.html

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