CMS, health insurers standardize quality measures
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and major health insurance plans, in concert with physician groups and other stakeholders, on February 16 announced a new agreement to standardize measures of quality for physicians. The agreement outlines seven core measure sets to be used as a basis…
Joint Commission launches new quality reporting initiative
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 16 launched a new initiative called “Pioneers in Quality.” The program provides education and support for hospitals as they strive to meet the growing requirements for electronic clinical quality measures. Key components of the initiative include: Educational webinars Resource portal Modified annual report focusing…
CMS extends ‘Meaningful Use’ deadline
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the deadline to attest to achieving “Meaningful Use” in 2015 to March 11, the February 12 MedCity News reports. The original deadline had been February 29. CMS announced the extension in an e-mail to providers and health IT…
Contamination of drugs during administration by anesthesiologists
Editor's Note In this study, researchers found microorganisms with the potential to cause infections being injected into patients during administration of drugs by anesthesiologists during surgical procedures. The study included 23 anesthesiologists, each anesthetizing up to 25 patients. The anesthesiologists were asked to inject all bolus drugs, except propofol and…
CMS issues final rule on Medicare overpayments
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on February 11 released its final rule for reporting and repaying Medicare overpayments, as required by the Affordable Care Act. The rule requires providers and suppliers to report and return any overpayments they identify within 6 years of receipt, down…
FDA: Class I recall of Drager Oxylog Emergency Transport Ventilators
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 10 classified the recall of the Oxylog 2000 Plus, 3000, and 3000 plus Emergency Transport Ventilators by Drager Medical (Telford, Pennsylvania) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of an electrical issue that may cause the…
Bariatric surgery linked to lower mortality for older patients
Editor's Note Gastric bypass surgery was associated with improved long-term survival for patients aged 35 years and older in this study. In the analysis of nearly 16,000 patients—8,000 who had gastric bypass surgery and 8,000 who did not have surgery—researchers found mortality benefits varied by age. Those who were: younger…
Lower patient-to-nurse ratios tied to better patient survival
Editor's Note This study from the UK found that a patient-to-nurse ratio of no more than six patients per nurse on medical wards was associated with 20% lower patient mortality than when each nurse was responsible for at least 10 patients. Results also showed a 17% reduction in mortality with…
FDA: Cook recalls Central Venous Catheters and Pressure Monitoring Sets and Trays
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 11 announced that Cook Medical (Bloomington, Indiana) initiated a recall of 360 specific lots of Single Lumen Central Venous Catheters and Pressure Monitoring Sets and Trays because of the potential for catheter tip fracture or separation. The products were distributed…
EHR associated with fewer in-hospital adverse events
Editor's Note Pneumonia, cardiovascular, and surgery patients whose treatments were entered into a fully electronic health record (EHR) were between 17% and 30% less likely to experience in-hospital adverse events, this study finds. Among the findings: Pneumonia patients had 35% lower odds of adverse drug events, 34% lower odds of…
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