First Ever County Level Report on Stroke Hospitalizations

First Ever County Level Report on Stroke Hospitalizations
Provided by teh Center for Disease Control and Prevention

The highest rate of stroke hospitalizations among Medicare beneficiaries exists among African-Americans and in counties located primarily in the southeastern states, according to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

The report, “Atlas of Stroke Hospitalizations Among Medicare Beneficiaries,” also reveals that a significant number of Medicare beneficiaries live in counties that have no access to care or inadequate choices for emergency health care when they suffer a stroke.

 

Healthy @ Home

http://www.aarp.org/research/housing-mobility/indliving/healthy_home.html

Older adults and family caregivers are willing to use new technologies (such as telemedicine and telepharmacy) that can allow people to remain independent—and in their own homes—as they age. These December 2007 national surveys of 907 adults age 65+ and 1,023 caregivers age 45-75 conclude that both groups could benefit by knowing more about the range of technological innovations that are available today (and those that are on the horizon). Key findings include the following:

• While older adults have a limited awareness of new technologies that could help them meet their goals, they would be willing to use a wide variety of items to maintain social contact, gather information, be safe at home, and promote their personal health and wellness.
• Three-fourths of older adults support the use of telemedicine to diagnose or monitor health conditions remotely in their home, while more than 9 in 10 support the use of telepharmacy to have their doctor monitor their medications and send prescriptions to the pharmacy.
• Like older adults, caregivers also say that they would be willing to use new technologies to meet their needs in the caregiving role; however, more than 8 in 10 think they will have difficulty persuading the people they care for use these items.
• Both groups are concerned about the costs associated with new technologies.

+ Full Report (PDF; 1.01 MB)

Healthcare Inspection Evaluation of Quality Management in Veterans Health Administration Facilities Fiscal Year 2007

http://www.va.gov/oig/54/reports/VAOIG-07-00060-126.pdf

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Healthcare Inspections completed an evaluation of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical facilities’ quality management (QM) programs. The purposes of the evaluation were to determine whether VHA facilities had comprehensive, effective QM programs designed to monitor patient care activities and coordinate improvement efforts and whether VHA facility senior managers actively supported QM efforts and appropriately responded to QM results.

http://www.va.gov/oig/54/reports/VAOIG-07-00060-126.pdf