Accomplishing more with less under PPS using patient education.
Hospital administrators are constantly looking for ways to cut costs and yet not jeopardize quality of care. One possibility is patient education. Patient education is the process of informing patients and family members about an illness so the patient's chances for recovery are increased and the hospital stay itself is improved. Such a strategy can potentially reduce hospital costs shortening length of stay and decreasing anxiety, pain, complications, and the need for analgesic medication. The implications for Medicare patients are strong. Patient education can reduce Medicare costs while in the hospital and make the possibility of readmission less likely. In short, patient education is a means of reducing costs and increasing quality of care--doing more with less.
D005376:Financial Management; D005377:Financial Management, Hospital; D006278:Medicare; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000191:economics*; D011445:Prospective Payment System; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms; D014481:United States