AACN clinical issues
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Credentialing and privileging are increasingly common administrative processes that advanced practice nurses must complete. With the intention of assuring the public of safe health care provided by qualified personnel, several federal and state organizations have developed criteria that licensed practitioners must meet. ⋯ This article explains the guidelines from federal, state, and institutional agencies and offers recommendations to practitioners as they prepare for the credentialing process. Also included are sample forms for establishing a practice agreement and a privilege-delineation request.
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AACN clinical issues · Aug 1999
Review Case ReportsManaging congestive heart failure with thoracic electrical bioimpedance.
Because of clinical utility, immediate feedback, absence of risk to the patient, portability, and use in virtually any practice setting, facilities using thoracic electrical bioimpedance monitoring are increasing throughout the world. Specialized centers treating patients with heart failure have shown remarkable benefits, both in health care costs and patient morbidity, attributable to the careful monitoring and management of patients with heart failure. The ability of thoracic bioimpedance monitoring to provide objective data in the management of congestive heart failure provides practitioners with the clinical reassurance to optimize pharmacologic therapy safely.
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Costs for hemodynamic monitoring can comprise a large segment of an institution's budget. Noninvasive monitoring with thoracic electrical bioimpedance is a cost-effective alternative to invasive monitoring. It can decrease not only materials costs but also costs related to patient complications.