The RAC Toolkit for Hospitals and Health Systems: Manage Responses and Avoid Claims Under the Permanent Program Amanda W. Berglund, MS, MBA; Elizabeth E. Lamkin, MHA Learn how to respond to RAC audits. And more importantly, how to prevent them. The RAC Toolkit for Hospitals and Health Systems: Manage Responses and Avoid Claims Under the Permanent Program is your answer to turning plans into proactive action for RAC success. Authors Elizabeth E. Lamkin, MHA, and Amanda W. Berglund, MS, MBA, describe how to establish and sustain an effective RAC-preparedness structure that can be adapted to fit any organization's system. They provide best practices for successful processes and outline each staff member's role in your RAC audit program. Whether you are responding to a Recovery Auditor or another government auditor, your program must operate as effectively as possible. You will use their tested, proven, and practical tools that will help you build a more effective billing compliance program. You'll learn how to bring finance, business office and clinical staff together for operational improvements that directly affect your bottom line. The RAC Toolkit for Hospitals and Health Systems will help you get the job done right. The RAC Toolkit for Hospitals and Health Systems will help you achieve the following goals: Take a systemic approach to RAC compliance Incorporate effective structure and processes to existing systems for measurable results Organize committees and facilitate information flow Appeal effectively and within deadlines Use proven tools and methods for an effective RAC program Table of Contents: Chapter 1: RAC Program Overview Chapter 2: Preparing for RAC Chapter 3: The Right Structure: Organizing the Committees Chapter 4: The Right People: Three Critical Roles for RAC Prevention Chapter 5: Additional RAC Stakeholders Chapter 6: Automated Reviews Chapter 7: Complex Review and Extrapolation Chapter 8 The Appeal Appendix (Acronyms and additional resources) Take advantage of these valuable tools included in your book: RAC appeal timeline RAC preparedness checklist RAC committee structure flowchart Organizational chart for RAC-related personnel Sample RAC committee meeting agenda Sample UR committee meeting agenda Complex case review worksheet Admission review continued stay and discharge review flowchart Patient status change letter template Automated review timeline Complex review timeline Appeal letter template for appeal level 1 redetermination CMS form 20027 CMS form 20034 CMS form DAB101

The Future of Nursing explores how nurses' roles, responsibilities, and education should change significantly to meet the increased demand for care that will be created by health care reform and to advance improvements in America's increasingly complex health system. At more than 3 million in number, nurses make up the single largest segment of the health care work force. They also spend the greatest amount of time in delivering patient care as a profession. Nurses therefore have valuable insights and unique abilities to contribute as partners with other health care professionals in improving the quality and safety of care as envisioned in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enacted this year. Nurses should be fully engaged with other health professionals and assume leadership roles in redesigning care in the United States. To ensure its members are well-prepared, the profession should institute residency training for nurses, increase the percentage of nurses who attain a bachelor's degree to 80 percent by 2020, and double the number who pursue doctorates. Furthermore, regulatory and institutional obstacles-including limits on nurses' scope of practice-should be removed so that the health system can reap the full benefit of nurses' training, skills, and knowledge in patient care. In this book, the Institute of Medicine makes recommendations for an action-oriented blueprint for the future of nursing.

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

Half the students in U.S. schools are experiencing or have experienced trauma, violence, or chronic stress. Much has been written about these students from a therapeutic perspective, especially regarding how to provide them with adequate counseling supports and services. Conversely, little has been written about teaching this population and doing so from a strengths-based perspective. Using real-world examples as well as research-based principles, this book shows how to * Identify inherent assets that students bring to the classroom. * Connect to students’ experiences through instructional planning and delivery. * Foster students’ strengths through the use of predictable routines and structured paired and small-group learning experiences. * Develop family and community partnerships. Experts Debbie Zacarian, Lourdes Alvarez-Ortiz, and Judie Haynes outline a comprehensive, collaborative approach to teaching that focuses on students’ strengths and resiliency. Teaching to Strengths encourages educators to embrace teaching and schoolwide practices that support and enhance the academic and socio-emotional development of students living with trauma, violence, and chronic stress.

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