Home health care helper, emerging infections info

By Carol Lindsay, RN
February 21, 2003

The National Association for Home Care and Hospice [www.nahc.org] is the trade association that represents the interests and concerns of home care agencies, hospices, home care aide organizations and medical equipment suppliers. It is dedicated to making the lives of home care and hospice providers easier, and its mission is to allow people nationwide to receive health care and social services in their own homes whenever possible.

The Web site offers legislative and regulatory information, home care facts, statistics and cost analysis and information about state associations. For the consumer, it provides a home health agency locater for adult and pediatric services.

Navigation tool

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services site [www.cms.gov] provides insight into the world of Medicare and Medicaid, which services they will cover, eligibility and enrollment.

Of particular interest is a 51-page manual that contains information on what durable medical equipment is covered and the specific circumstances for which it is covered. This includes hospital beds, pneumatic pressure devices, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators and wheelchairs. Another manual provides information on general coverage issues, such as procedures, drugs and nursing services.

Handle with care

The Department of Veterans Affairs has established a patient safety inquiry center in Tampa, Fla. The Web site [www.patientsafetycenter.com] provides information about its latest research and clinical innovations. The center's objectives are to reduce risks related to mobility, design a patient safety improvement program, apply and test clinical innovations for safe patient movement, and design and test innovative strategies for patient safety.

Under the Safe Patient Handling and Movement page, a patient care ergonomics resource guide, a no-lift policy draft and a restraint policy draft can be downloaded. A technology resource guide describes various patient lifts and includes vendor information.

Bioterrorism

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [www.bioterrorism.uab.edu] has worked with other agencies, including the University of Alabama and the Center for Disease Preparedness, to provide resource information and continuing education about rare infections and bioterrorism agents.

The site offers images of infectious diseases, pediatric and adult continuing education modules and summary sheets on the diseases that the CDC defines as "Category A" or high-priority biological diseases, including anthrax, smallpox, botulism, tularemia, viral hemorrhagic fever and plague.

Heads up

The National Headache Foundation site [www.headaches.org] is divided in two sections: one for headache sufferers and the other for health care professionals. Educational resources include a CME on migraine prophylaxis, emergency room protocols and a headache-screening questionnaire.

A headache measurement tool helps patients measure the effect headaches are having on their lives and communicate that information to their health care provider. Two other assessment tools are the headache diary and the migraine prevention screening tool.