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Meaningful Use – Fraud or Frenzy

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Robert Rowley downloaded the CMS data on Meaningful Use and did an interesting analysis in his article about EHR vendor strength. I was intrigued, so I downloaded the same data, created a pivot table or two, and did my own analysis.

As the CEO of a growing EMR business, I was curious to see how we did. What I found was quite scary. 74% of the providers who attested for CMS funds using our system were NOT OUR CUSTOMERS. Attesting for Stage 1, in some cases, only requires the provider to show they signed an agreement with an EMR vendor to install their products. Yet, I did not expect the results to be this fraudulent.

Health and Safety Around the Home: What to Put in Your First Aid Kit

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Health and safety around the home is of paramount importance – especially if you have little ones who don’t understand about hazards or danger. According to The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, more than 5,000 people die each year and 2.7 million people receive medical treatment due to domestic accidents, so what can you do to make your living environment secure?

Petition! Petition! Mandate Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Full Practice Authority

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You may have received the following request (or something similar) in your inbox on Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, and the like: Mandate Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) full practice authority

The link takes you to a petition directed to the White House. The petition hopes to raise public awareness about APRNs and the barriers to their full practice authority. These practice barriers vary by state and include inability to prescribe medication without physician collaboration, inability to order imaging studies, inability to initiate home care, and inability to be a patient’s primary care provider of record.

Simulation Technology Rapidly Expanding in Nursing Education

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Hi NerdyNurse Readers! Please allow me to introduce myself as Lance Baily, founder of the free simulation resource website HealthySimulation.com, and The Gathering of Healthcare Simulation Technology Specialists non-profit organization at SimGHOSTS.Org. As you may know, healthcare simulation technology continues to grow into nursing schools and medical centers around the world. For these fully immersive scenarios, realistic full-bodied manikins are controlled behind a two-way mirrors which allow technicians to pre-program or change vital signs “on the fly”. Also behind this mirror is a clinical educator who speaks as the voice of the patient while learners begin to assess the scene and take actions. The entire event is usually being digitally recorded and displayed to another debrief room, which can also show performance analysis indicators. After the scenario concludes, the educator and learner return to the debrief and review the footage, discussing the event in a constructive non-personal way. As you can imagine, between manikin robots, camera hardware, endless microphones, analysis software, server storage racks, and miles of cable – the technology can become overwhelming quite quickly.

The Nursing Shortage: Behind the Numbers

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While it seems that hospitals and health care centers should have an excess of nurses when other jobs are scarce, as with many things, the nursing shortage question involves more than meets the eye. So while the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that demand for nurses will grow by 26 percent between now and 2020 — translating into 1.2 million new jobs — that doesn’t necessarily mean that the unemployment problem is solved.

A Smart Action Plan for Home Invasions

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The potential threat of a home invasion is perhaps one of the most terrifying thoughts for parents. We’ve all heard the horror stories on the news about families bound, sexually assaulted, and killed during home invasions. Unlike burglaries that typically happen when the family is not home, home invaders are often after you and your family, not just your stuff.

Side Effects of Workout Supplements

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Anyone who has been to the gym has probably seen their fair share of supplements that are said to be required before working out and after working out in order to keep your weight loss and muscle building on track. These supplements come in a variety of forms from shakes to pills to food bars. With so many items available to gym goers at any given time, it’s only natural to wonder if those things are actually required or if they could potentially harm you.

Drug Addiction and Recovery: Opioids

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Opioid drugs are either naturally-derived from the poppy plant, such as heroin, morphine, and opium, or synthetic, such as oxycontin, oxymorphone and hydromorphone. Heroin, morphine and opium are illegal, while oxycontin, oxymorphone and hydromorphone are legal with a prescription, but heavily regulated.

Simple Steps to Keep Your Family Safe

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Keeping your family healthy and medically safe is no doubt a priority. But unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Medical emergencies can happen suddenly, and due to everyday exposure to germs and bacteria, illnesses are inevitable. Although you can’t control every single aspect of your family’s health, simple measures can reduce the risk of injuries and illnesses, affording you peace of mind.

How to Prevent Birth Injuries

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According to recent reports, more than two million birth injuries are known to have taken place in the last few years alone. This figure is definitely appalling knowing that medical science continues to grow and has is now better than ever. In such a scenario, it’s not surprising to have so many parents and parents-to-be confused about the the type of preventive measures that they should be taking to avoid birth injuries. The following article outlines a few effective tips to ensure a safe birth, minus any injuries.