Managing Hospital Discharge For Readmissions Success

Detailing Case Management Interventions to Halt Avoidable Readmissions

About the Webinar Program Objectives Webinar Will Answer These Questions Speakers Who Should Attend Purchase Options Continuing Education Questions

Attend from your desktop or conference room. Invite your whole team to attend at one low price.   Rates:  $329 per location, unlimited viewers per location (a special rate is also available for solo practitioners and the military). Please call 301-354-1769 for promo code for a price reduction if you qualify.  Each registration comes with access to the archived version of the program and the materials until December 31, 2012. Continuing Professional Education: This program is approved for 1.5 contact hour for nurses, social workers, certified case managers,

For most patients who leave the hospital, the last thing they want is to return anytime soon. Yet, many Medicare patients discharged from an inpatient stay find themselves back in the hospital within 30 days. Some of these readmissions are planned, and others may be part of the natural course of treatment for specific conditions; but increasingly, some hospital readmissions are being thought of as avoidable and as “indicators of poor care, missed opportunities to better coordinate care, and poor hand offs during the transitions of care.”

Until recently, no one looked at readmissions and most professionals thought readmissions were considered the nature of the business. Due to the rising cost of healthcare and its impact on the economy, many people are now looking at readmissions and finding that, if they are addressed proactively, avoidable readmissions could be reduced, patient satisfaction could be increased and costs can be contained.

Join us on May 22, 2012, for a look at how three organizations are working to reduce avoidable admissions and put themselves in line to receive incentives that will be available through Medicare and other payers in the near future who put measures into place as part of quality improvements efforts to improve processes, reduce avoidable readmissions and transition patients effectively and efficiently across the care continuum.

 

About the Webinar

Hospitalizations are costly, accounting for approximately 31 percent of total healthcare expenditures. In Medicare, inpatient care accounts for 37 percent of spending, and readmissions contribute significantly to that cost: 18 percent of Medicare patients discharged from the hospital have a readmission within 30 days of discharge, accounting for $15 billion in spending. Multiple factors contribute to avoidable hospital readmissions, such as

• Poor quality care or poor transitions between different providers and care settings.
• Patients are discharged from hospitals or other healthcare settings prematurely.
• Patients are discharged to inappropriate settings, or do not receive adequate information or resources to ensure continued progression.
• A lack of system factors, such as coordinated care and seamless communication and information exchange between inpatient and community-based providers all can lead to unplanned readmissions.

Today, organizations across the country are experimenting with ways to address avoidable readmissions. Leaders such as Dr. Eric Coleman, Dr. Maryann Naylor, and Project Red have taken the time to study the problem and have developed programs to address this important issue. Due to the challenges from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other payers who will impose financial disincentives, for avoidable readmissions organizations of all types are now getting on board to see where they stand and what they can do to address the issue in their organization as well as community.

 

Program Objectives

• Explore innovative programs that are reducing avoidable readmissions,
• Understand the impact that disincentives will have on providers’ bottom lines if avoidable readmission are not addressed.
• Discuss how various organizations can implement processes to reduce the rate of hospital readmissions and how to develop a shared understanding of where responsibility for post-discharge interventions resides.

Our Webinar Will Answer These Questions

• What are the causes of avoidable hospital readmissions?

• What are the impacts of readmission on quality of life, patient satisfaction and the cost of healthcare?

• How are organizations addressing ways to reduce avoidable readmissions?

• What methods have been implemented to ensure effective transitions of care?

• How are organizations working together with payers and other providers to reduce readmissions?

• What role does the patient/family play in the readmission dilemma?

• What tools are there in place to engage patients to address issues that might be a cause for avoidable readmissions?

• What nonmedical issues impact the avoidable readmission challenges?

• How are medical/non reimbursable issues being addressed in communities?

• How are collaborative relationships between hospitals, home care and community agencies working together to address transitions of care and ensure coordination of care?

 

Faculty

Rebecca Bouchard, Director of Programs and Services, ComForcare Health Care Holdings, Inc. Rebecca Bouchard has been with ComForcare Senior Services since January 2000, currently holding the position of Director of Programs and Services. Rebecca has over ten years experience working in the fields of Human Resources and Human Services and working with people of diverse backgrounds and areas such as recruitment, employee relations, employment law and corporate compliance programs such as HIPAA, ADA and FMLA. Her duties include support and training for franchisees with respect to scheduling, human resources and daily business operations. Rebecca is responsible for the development of new programs and services to improve the quality of life of clients served. Included in such programs is ComForcare’s Chronic Disease Management Initiative and Patient Centered Transitions Program to help reduce hospital readmissions.

Mary Rose McBride is Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Lifespan of Greater Rochester Inc. in Rochester, N.Y. Lifespan provides an array of non-medical services that help people 60 and older take on both the challenges and opportunities of longer life. Lifespan serves Monroe and adjacent counties in upstate New York. (www.lifespan-roch.org). Ms. McBride has been with the organization for 20 years. In 1995, she helped launch and then served as administrator for Eldersource Care Management Services, a collaborative program of Lifespan and Catholic Family Center focused on assisting with eldercare situations. Ms. McBride is now assisting with the launch of the CMS Care Transitions Coaching project for Medicare fee-for-service patients discharged from area hospitals. She holds a degree in Mass Communications from St. Bonaventure University.

Pat Kramer Pat is the Director of Case Management at Duke Raleigh Hospital in Raleigh, NC where she has been since 2005. Pat has 25 years experience in the evolution of hospital case management, working in acute care hospitals in Kentucky, Virginia and North Carolina. Pat holds a Specialist in Education (Ed.S.) Degree in Mental Health Counseling and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work (BSW) and is a Certified Case Manager, a Certified Social Worker and a National Certified Counselor. Pat is the Immediate Past-President of the American Case Management Association, North Carolina Chapter and is currently serving on the National ACMA Chapter Advisory Committee.

Melissa Wendland, Associate Director, Research and Planning, Finger Lakes Health System Agency Ms. Wendland brings over 20 years of Rochester healthcare experience to Finger Lakes Health System Agency. As Director of Programs, Ms. Wendland facilitates and maximizes team efficiencies, and brings a structured and organized approach to defining agency objectives, developing realistic timelines and reporting progress of key deliverables for agency commitments. Ms. Wendland's experience includes engaging and facilitating regional stakeholders in multifaceted system-wide quality improvement initiatives that promote implementing nationally approved quality guidelines in the local setting. Her recent accomplishments include publishing and presenting at the European Association for Communication in Healthcare, the American Association for Communication in Healthcare, and the Annual Academy Health Research meeting. Ms. Wendland actively served in United Way Public Policy and Community Impact Areas.

Moderator:  Anne Llewellyn RN-BC, MS, BHSA, CCM, CRRN  Editor in Chief, Case Management Products  Dorland Health, a division of Access Intelligence

 

Who Should Attend

Physicians Nurse Practitioners Physician Assistants Pharmacists Case Managers Social Workers

Quality Improvement Professionals Behavioral Health Professionals Managed Care Directors Benefit Design Professionals Practice Management Professionals Patient Centered Medical Home Consultants

Purchase Options

• $329 per location, unlimited viewing per location (a special rate is available for solo practitioners and the military. Please call 301-354-1769 for promo code for a price reduction if you qualify.
• Live Webinar Registration – $329 (per-site fee)
• Webinar Recording on CD-ROM – $329
• Live Webinar and CD-ROM – $379

Continuing Professional Education

Nurses: This program is approved for 1.5 contact hours for nurses by Commonwealth Educational Seminars (CES). As an APA approved provider, CES programs are accepted by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Every state Board of Nursing accepts ANCC approved programs except California and Iowa. However, CES is also an approved Continuing Education Provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing, (Provider Number CEP 15567) which is also accepted by the Iowa Board of Nursing

Certified Case Managers: This program is approved for 1.5 contact hours for case managers through the Commission for Case Manager Certification.

Social Workers: This program is approved for 1.5 CE hours for Social Workers. Commonwealth Educational Seminars (CES) is approved as a provider for Social Work Continuing Education (ACE Provider #1117) by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB, 400 South Ridge Parkway, Ste B, Culpepper, VA 22701) www.aswb.org. ASWB Approval Period: 10/6/09-10/5/12.

Questions?

For questions regarding the Webinar or to register by phone, contact Hope Kabik at 301-354-1769.

For content questions regarding this Webinar, contact Anne Llewellyn at 954-254-2950 or email allewellyn@dorlandhealth.com.

*Dorland Health does not offer any refunds for the webinar.  All sales are final.

For technical support questions, you can contact the Webex technical support line at 1.866.229.3239.
 

How Does the Webinar Work?

The live audio is delivered to your location over the telephone or your computer speakers. The Power-Point presentations are presented over the Internet and are available to print out before the program. This is like a talk-radio program with visuals on the Web. You and your team will be able to have a live Q&A with all the speakers.

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