Centura Health cuts 30,000 needles with new blood-draw program

It's not uncommon for medical staff to wake patients in the early hours of the morning to prick them for blood draw. That's one reality Centura Health is trying to change.  »

Home health saves Medicare money despite higher readmissions

A new study found Medicare patients discharged to home health had a 5.6% higher 30-day readmission rate compared with those sent to a skilled-nursing facility. Even so, home health saved Medicare $4,514 on average per episode.

Using telehealth to conduct medication reconciliation

New York-Presbyterian has enlisted pharmacy techs and interns to conduct virtual consultations with patients about their medications. The program has enabled the system to increase medication reconciliations by as much as 126% at some sites. 

Addiction treatment providers go mobile

There's growing interest in using empirically validated, mobile app-based therapeutic tools that allow providers to remotely offer therapy, skills training and support to their patients in between face-to-face visits.

Unnecessary ED visits from chronically ill patients cost $8.3 billion

Six common chronic conditions accounted for 60% of 24 million ED visits in 2017, and about 30% of those visits—or 4.3 million—were likely preventable and could be treated in a less expensive outpatient setting, according to a new Premier report.

Tending to social determinants of health with software

Software incorporated into electronic health records helps providers “prescribe” patients community resources to address social determinants of health.

Health systems fire up business incubators

Hospitals and health systems are launching their own incubators and partnering with existing organizations to gain access to entrepreneurs' innovative ideas.

NYC Health & Hospitals designs plant-based diet program to help patients with chronic disease

NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue has invested $400,000 to help roughly 300 patients transition to a plant-based diet. A growing body of research shows vegetable-based diets can prevent and reverse chronic diseases.

Reducing the risk of readmission by talking about substance abuse before discharge

A new program at Yale New Haven Health System provides patients with substance abuse disorder diagnosis and treatment from addiction medicine specialists before they are discharged from the hospital.

Keeping patients safe with therapy dogs, fending off MRSA

New research has found that patients who spent more time with therapy dogs increased their risk of contracting the superbug MRSA—a warning to hospitals that haven't examined their policies surrounding the popular programs.