July 2015 – By Your Side Care Management

Which Cut of Meat Is Least Likely to Make You Sick?

by Katie
July 31, 2015January 10, 2016

Every time you eat, you’re rolling the germ dice. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 6 Americans contracts a foodborne illness annually; 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die. Pathogens from meat kill more people than those from any other food group. A CDC study found that between 1998 and 2008, contaminated meat was responsible for 29 percent of all deaths from foodborne illness (23 percent of deaths were from produce, 15 percent from dairy and eggs, and 6.4 percent from fish and shellfish).Read More »Which Cut of Meat Is Least Likely to Make You Sick?

15 Astonishing Facts About America

by Katie
July 28, 2015July 28, 2015

1. The current 50-star American flag was designed by a 17-year-old as a school project in 1958. He got a B-.

2. There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover the entire landmass of North and South America in one foot of liquid.

3. Meanwhile, the US sells enough pizza every day to cover 100 acres.Read More »15 Astonishing Facts About America

Elder Mediation – New Role in Healthcare

by Katie
July 22, 2015July 22, 2015

As nurses, professional caregivers, and mediators we can all regale ourselves with accounts of family conflicts that seem to reach new heights as they unfold before us. We are amazed by what people say, at their behaviors in front of strangers, and to what levels they will go to hold fast to fiercely held beliefs and positions.Read More »Elder Mediation – New Role in Healthcare

12 Medication Management Tips That May Save Your Life

by Katie
July 18, 2015July 18, 2015

The importance of medication management cannot be overstated, especially when it comes to caring for the elderly, who often take multiple medications simultaneously to treat different conditions and symptoms. In official terminology, this is called polypharmacy. While we’ve quickly become used to the idea of our aging parents taking more and more vitamins and pills each day, polypharmacy has a number of potential health hazards, including overmedication and dangerous drug interactions.Read More »12 Medication Management Tips That May Save Your Life

Medicare – Inpatient vs Outpatient

by Katie
July 14, 2015July 14, 2015

Your hospital status—whether you’re an inpatient or an outpatient—affects how much you pay for hospital services (like X-rays, drugs, and lab tests) and may also affect whether Medicare will cover care you get in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) following your hospital stay.Read More »Medicare – Inpatient vs Outpatient

Care Coordination

by Katie
July 13, 2015

Care-coordination Care coordination involves deliberately organizing patient care activities and sharing information among all of the participants concerned with a patient’s care to achieve safer and more effective care. This means that the patient’s needs and preferences are known ahead of time and communicated at the right time to the right people, and that this information is used to provide safe, appropriate, and effective care to the patient.

Care coordination in the primary care practice involves deliberately organizing patient care activities and sharing information among all of the participants concerned with a patient’s care to achieve safer and more effective care.Read More »Care Coordination

3 Power Moves to Keep Your Parents Out of the Hospital

by Katie
July 6, 2015

You don’t want to start your caregiver journey in a hospital. This is sort of like taking your first tennis lesson at Wimbledon. Unfortunately, though, this is often where it starts — you begin in a lovely state of denial about your parent’s frailty.Read More »3 Power Moves to Keep Your Parents Out of the Hospital