Hidden opportunities to improve profits in the healthcare industry abound in the area of discharge planning. The Discharge Planning Handbook for Healthcare: Top Ten Secrets to Unlocking a New Revenue Pipeline provides innovative new solutions that will show hospital administrators how to turn one of the most antiquated aspects of healthcare into on

The Roundtable on Health Literacy brings together leaders from academia, industry, government, foundations, and associations and representatives of patient and consumer interests who work to improve health literacy. To achieve its mission, the roundtable discusses challenges facing health literacy practice and research and identifies approaches to promote health literacy through mechanisms and partnerships in both the public and private sectors. To explore the aspects of health literacy that impact the ability of patients to understand and follow discharge instructions and to learn from examples of how discharge instructions can be written to improve patient understanding of-and hence compliance with-discharge instructions, the Roundtable on Health Literacy held a public workshop. The workshop featured presentations and discussions that examined the implications of health literacy for discharge instructions for both ambulatory and inpatient facilities. Facilitating Patient Understanding of Discharge Instructions summarizes the presentations and discussions of the workshop. This report gives an overview of the impact of discharge instructions on outcomes, and discusses the specifics of inpatient discharge summaries and outpatient after-visit summaries. The report also contains case studies illustrating different approaches to improving discharge instructions.

This open access book aims to provide a comprehensive but practical overview of the knowledge required for the assessment and management of the older adult with or at risk of fragility fracture. It considers this from the perspectives of all of the settings in which this group of patients receive nursing care. Globally, a fragility fracture is estimated to occur every 3 seconds. This amounts to 25 000 fractures per day or 9 million per year. The financial costs are reported to be: 32 billion EUR per year in Europe and 20 billon USD in the United States. As the population of China ages, the cost of hip fracture care there is likely to reach 1.25 billion USD by 2020 and 265 billion by 2050 (International Osteoporosis Foundation 2016). Consequently, the need for nursing for patients with fragility fracture across the world is immense. Fragility fracture is one of the foremost challenges for health care providers, and the impact of each one of those expected 9 million hip fractures is significant pain, disability, reduced quality of life, loss of independence and decreased life expectancy. There is a need for coordinated, multi-disciplinary models of care for secondary fracture prevention based on the increasing evidence that such models make a difference. There is also a need to promote and facilitate high quality, evidence-based effective care to those who suffer a fragility fracture with a focus on the best outcomes for recovery, rehabilitation and secondary prevention of further fracture. The care community has to understand better the experience of fragility fracture from the perspective of the patient so that direct improvements in care can be based on the perspectives of the users. This book supports these needs by providing a comprehensive approach to nursing practice in fragility fracture care.

Occupational therapy is an allied health profession with an underlying belief that engaging in occupations promotes both health and wellness. This comprehensive text lays the foundation for occupation-based practice and addresses the contextual issues of working within the acute care setting. The chapters help to demystify medical conditions and issues routinely encountered by occupational therapists working in this practice area. Detailed research covers the importance of occupational therapists' knowledge of how diseases affect the human body, including the cardiovascular, nervous, and endocrine systems. Chapters review the evaluation process, including chart review, measures, and interpretations and recommendations for intervention to ensure the ultimate level of independence for each patient. Occupational Therapy in Acute Care is designed specifically for therapists working in a hospital setting to acquire better knowledge of the various body systems, common conditions, diseases, and procedures. Students and educators will find this new publication to be the most useful text available on the topic. The book features color illustrations of the human body's systems and functions, as well as tables delineating the signs and symptoms for various diseases. HIGHLIGHTS include: * Evaluation of the Acute Care Patient * The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) * The Cardiac System * The Vascular System * The Pulmonary System * The Nervous System * Orthopedics and Musculoskeletal Disorders * The Endocrine System * The Gastrointestinal System * The Genitourinary System * Oncology * Infectious Diseases and Autoimmune Disorders * Dysphagia * Transplantation * Burns * Appendices -- Common diagnostic tests, medications, deconditioning and immobility, energy conservation, patients with altered mental status, low vision, bariatrics, vertigo, safe patient handling, pain management, evidence-based practice, ethics, discharge planning, blood disorde

v. 1. Research findings -- v. 2. Concepts and methodology -- v. 3. Implementation issues -- v. 4. Programs, tools and products.

Here's a practical guide for nurses in helping patients make a transition from one care setting to another. Focuses on DRGs and the critical need for planning and teamwork resulting from early discharge. Provides checklist to help ensure continuity of care, as it relates to health promotion, recuperation, short- and long-term rehabilitation, chronic disease, institutional care, and terminal illness. Also includes legal and ethical considerations.