Lack of awareness about PAD

New research shows that only about 25 percent of Americans are aware of peripheral artery disease, which affects about 8 million Americans. The chair of the National PAD Coalition called the lack of awareness a “wake up call” for better education about the disease, which can be an indication of other serious conditions, such as clogging of arteries in the heart or brain. Click here to read more.

Editors Note: The cover story in the August/September issue of Case in Point covered this topic. To read the article go to www.caseinpointmagazine.com. As part of this story, we provided a video (located under Video & Visuals) produced by the Retirement Network that provides a visual that case mangers can use to better understand this disease. Case managers can also share this video with their patients to increase awareness of this very treatable disease.

Study: Firms should help unhappy workers

Case managers today are cued into the importance of assessing for depression in the patients they manage. A study reported in the September 2007 issue of JAMA (The Journal of American Medical Association) provides important information that can be used by managed care organizations as they continue to build programs that identify depressed employees and ensure they have access to effective treatment and a process in place to improve adherence. Click here to read more.

Family Wins suit for autistic son’s heath care

Autism hits home to many. Those involved in medical management may want to take a few minutes to listen to an interview from NPR that describes how a New Jersey family advocated for their son for a treatment that was working but was not paid for by their insurance company. The family took the case all the way to the state’s highest court and won an important victory. Click here for a link to the story.

Many nursing homes managed through corporate structure

An article in the NY Times this week showed that an increasing number of private-equity firms have acquired nursing homes and subsequently have reduced costs, increased profits and quickly resold the facilities for significant gains. CMS data shows residents at these nursing homes are subject to poorer quality care and are more prone to depression, loss of ability to dress and bathe themselves, and loss of mobility. Some groups are calling for increased transparency. Click here to read more.