AHRQ Offers Free Webinar on Data Collection in the Health Care Setting
Learn new ways to approach health care data collection analysis during a free Webinar sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The 90-minute event is Wednesday, April 29, 1 to 2:30 p.m. CT.

Association Updates Guidelines on Heart Failure
Calling it a "critical performance measure for care coordination and transition," the American College of Cardiology issued updated guidelines for the diagnosis and management of heart failure in adults. The guidelines address discharge instructions as well as patient education on activity, diet, medications and follow-up appointments, and what to do if symptoms worsen.

Poor Transitions, Coordination Pose Barriers to Quality Chronic Disease Care
Quality care is impeded by poor transitions between health care facilities and lack of care coordination within the delivery system, according to "Chronic Care: A Call to Action for Health Reform," a report issued by AARP last month.
 
Health Literacy and Patient Safety Highlighted in AHRQ Podcast
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) monthly "Perspectives on Safety" podcast recently featured Dean Schillinger, MD, director of the Center for Vulnerable Populations at the University of California, San Francisco. Topics covered included teach-back, informed consent and health literacy measurement.

Preventing Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CME)
CMS will no longer reimburse health care institutions for care related to preventable conditions, including catheter-associated urinary tract infections, which account for about 40% of infections acquired in health care facilities. (Free Medscape registration required.)

HHS Issues Final Rules Regarding ICD-10 Code Sets and Standards for E-Transactions
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released two final rules to facilitate the ongoing adoption of electronic health records, including the expanded ICD-10 code set and updated standards for electronic transactions.

New Survey Results Show Huge Burden of Diabetes
This national survey is the first in 15 years to include findings from the oral glucose tolerance test, which is more sensitive in identifying pre-diabetes and diabetes. Vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and minorities, continue to have high incidence rates.

Advance Care Planning from AHRQ
This report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) discusses how physicians and other health care professionals can help their patients with advance care planning and assess patient preferences for care at the end of life.

NCHS Fact Sheet Focuses on Heart Disease
This one-page fact sheet from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) presents the most recent data on a variety of aspects of heart disease.

Is Care Coordination Too Expensive for Medicare?
This blog post from New York Times writer Anne Underwood discusses the costs and benefits of care coordination programs, and whether they make financial sense for Medicare to pursue.

Assessments and Best Practices in Care of Older Adults
The complexity of caring for older adults requires a solid foundation of assessment skills. This library of videos demonstrating evidence-based geriatric assessment tools to help working nurses improve their skills in providing quality care specialized to this patient group.

Obama Administration Proposes $630 Billion Reserve Fund for Health Care Reform
President Obama's administration is seeking a $630 billion reserve fund over 10 years to finance an overhaul of health care.

GAO Finds Coding Abuse in Home Health
Fraudulent "upcoding" by home health agencies was one of the major contributors to Medicare home health spending and utilization, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.