Costs & Cost Controls

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January 1970
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Effects of Medicare bundled payments for colectomy

Editor's Note In this study from Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, payments for colectomy under Medicare’s Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative were lower than a fee-for-service payment model, and the proportion of patients contributing to a net negative margin increased. Net negative margins were calculated as the difference between total hospital…

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By: Judy Mathias
May 19, 2016
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Can converting to synthetic surgical gloves lower hospital operating room costs?

Type 1 natural rubber latex allergic reactions are avoidable in the OR. Typically, surgical gloves are the last products remaining in the OR that contain natural rubber latex (NRL). Higher-cost, clinically acceptable synthetic latex surgical gloves are readily available. However, OR leaders can encounter significant resistance from hospital administrators when…

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By: OR Manager
May 16, 2016
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VBP program rewards 231 low-quality hospitals

Editor's Note Through its Value Based Purchasing (VBP) program, the  Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) paid bonuses to 231 hospitals with lower quality because their patients were less expensive, this study finds. CMS began measuring both spending and quality in FY 2015 to encourage hospitals to provide more…

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By: Judy Mathias
May 5, 2016
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Surgical development teams save millions in clinical costs

Surgeon champions can make or break a perioperative initiative. But it’s not enough to simply identify a single champion. OR leaders must engage a wide range of physicians to improve the organizational structure of the healthcare system. At Intermountain Healthcare, a 22-hospital system based in Salt Lake City, Utah, surgical…

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By: OR Manager
April 20, 2016
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Some 60% of hospitals could face penalties under new joint replacement rule

Editor's Note A new analysis by Avalere Health (Washington, DC) finds that 60% of hospitals participating in Medicare’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement bundled-payment model could face penalties if they don’t reduce their costs. The average total joint costs around $13,000, but the entire episode-of-care costs twice that at $26,000.…

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By: Judy Mathias
April 13, 2016
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Most Americans do not link healthcare quality to costs

Editor's Note Most Americans do not think healthcare prices and quality are associated and may avoid low-price care, finds this study. Depending on how the question was framed, 58% to 71% of Americans in a nationally representative survey did not associate healthcare prices and quality. A minority did perceive an…

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By: Judy Mathias
April 12, 2016
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Mini-MVR provides excellent outcomes without increased costs

Editor's Note Patients undergoing minimally invasive mitral valve repair or replacement (mini-MVR) have similar outcomes as patients having traditional open procedures and also experience shorter hospital stays and fewer blood transfusions, finds this study. The study included 1,304 patients, including 425 mini-MVRs. Compared with traditional MVR, Mini-MVR patients had similar…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 31, 2016
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ERAS program for total joints reduces length of stay

Editor's Note Use of an Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) program in total hip and total knee patients reduced length of stay by 1 day in this study. Short term complications and readmission rates were similar for patients in the ERAS program and those managed in a traditional perioperative care…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 28, 2016
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ACA costs rising

Editor's Note Over the next 10 years, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will cost $1.34 trillion, which is $136 billion more than the Congressional Budget Office predicted a year ago, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The hike in costs is mostly a result of higher-than-expected enrollment in the expanded Medicaid…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 28, 2016
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ECRI Institute and London School of Economics partner on device pricing project

Editor's Note ECRI Institute announced on March 17 that is collaborating with the London School of  Economics in a project examining medical device pricing across different countries. Medical devices are estimated to account for 6% to 7% of total health expenditure in the US and European countries, but little is…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 18, 2016
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