Survey results released earlier this year found that communication difficulties exist between patients and their rheumatologists for many reasons—possibly resulting in more disease activity despite advances in RA treatments. Here are tips for communicating with your patients and helping them be more proactive in their care…
Forty-five years ago, a computer engineer in Boston sent an electronic message between two computers some 10 feet apart. It took another 10 years or so before the electronic mail message was dubbed email—a term now, perhaps, more ubiquitous than any other in the lexicon of modern communications. Despite the seemingly definitive place email communication…
Patient portals are online programs and applications that help patients and physicians interact. Although there are many different implementations, most will have some sort of messaging component to help with communication between the doctor and the patient, as well as access to at least some elements of the chart, such as test results. “Patients should…
(Reuters Health)—Many patients leaving the hospital don’t understand follow-up care plans because the instructions are tailored to people with higher reading levels and more education, a recent U.S. study suggests. The American Medical Association already recommends that written health information be targeted to a sixth grade audience because nearly half of the U.S. population is…
One month has passed since the U.S. healthcare system overcame a historical milestone with the conversion from billing ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM. Although the transition to ICD-10 had a major impact on coding operations, its far-reaching tentacles go beyond coding alone and are deeply rooted in the entire revenue cycle. There is room to criticize the…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—What the Food and Drug Administration calls a ‘breakthrough’ drug is often not the same as what a layperson would call a breakthrough, a new study shows. The FDA uses the term more often, and for smaller advances, than people use it colloquially, and this may lead patients to have unwarranted confidence…
Choosing appropriate, pre-written disease fact sheets, or writing your own educational documents can help patients with low health literacy comprehend information about their condition
Committee is working to develop policy and programs to help ACR members deal with the administrative requirements of health insurance plans
HIPAA requires that healthcare providers maintain administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect patient information. This safeguard requirement has many physicians’ attorneys worried that their clients are violating HIPAA on a regular basis.
Bring clarity to your interactions with patients, staff, and colleagues.