As a case manager, I draw on resources wherever I can find them. The trouble is, many resources lie with people who have been too conditioned by the constraints of mandates to see new opportunities. Here's an example in which Medicare ''habituation'' created problems. ''Martha'', one of the injured workers for whom I was the disability case ...

Despite some good experiences, I believe there are significant flaws in mandates. The concept has merit, but the applications are a different story. Mandates can have unintended negative consequences. Efforts to comply with mandates can lead to cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approaches. Such approaches can create attitudes of entitlement for ...

What is your opinion about mandating OT services? Do you believe OT can survive as a profession - in the U.S., at least - without mandates? What recommendations about mandates would you make? Have mandates affected your OT job(s) specifically and/or your OT career in general? How? In my 25+ years practicing OT as a case manager, I have seen ...

”The moment they learned she's someone important they f[ound] the file[.]” - Bill Moyers Journal (PBS) transcript, 11/13/09 In the U.S. health care system, there is increasing emphasis on expecting people to take more responsibility for their own health and health care. This is a reasonable expectation in concept, but many care systems ...

Hey, all!  Here we are heading toward Thanksgiving and ''all you can eat Turkey Day!''  I crack up when people say, ''Gosh, I feel so tired after Thanksgiving dinner because of all those tryptophans!''  I can't imagine that it just might be from simply eating too much!  But who am I to judge, especially when I am ...

  Healthcare reform, the economic depression, reduced insurance reimbursements, Medicare and Medicaid cutbacks, how will this affect the future of the COTA?             Some people are quite nervous right now, thinking that Obama's healthcare reform will eliminate the COTA position. ...

  Well, I must admit that talking to others with different experiences and listening to the other side of the story is one good way to learn. This past weekend my thoughts were changed on the health care reform issues, and simply by listening to another opinion from someone who sees another side of the story. ...

  Changes in Medicare funding for skilled nursing facilities happened just a few days ago on October 1st. These changes will cut deeper into the budgets of all Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF's), but the impact will be felt more in smaller SNF's.  With strained budgets, it will more than likely affect the quality of care our senior ...

           News from some of the town hall meetings that have been happening around the country reminds me of the Vietnam War protests of the late 60's. Large organized groups of people protesting issues with proposed government actions. There were protesters carrying signs with defaced pictures of ...

         I know, kind of a sick topic for a blog, huh? However were you aware that Congress is currently discussing this topic as a part of the Health Care Reform bill? Yes it's true, now the government wants to tell us when we need to end our life and stop being a burden to Medicare ...