OR Business
CMS issues notice on ‘two-midnight’ rule payment cut
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on December 1 published a notice with comment period on the basis for cutting inpatient hospital payments by 0.2% in accordance with its “two-midnight” rule. The notice comes in response to an October 6 court ruling that challenged the payment…
CMS clarifies ICD-10 implementation issues
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reports that it will reprocess ICD-10 claims with National Coverage Determination and Local Coverage Determination errors automatically and at no cost to providers. CMS is also waiting to reprocess some claims with errors resulting from Local Coverage Determinations until Medicare…
Survey: ICD-10 has reduced hospital productivity
Editor's Note In a survey by Himagine Solutions, large hospitals reported a 30% to 45% reduction in productivity for inpatients and a 20% to 40% reduction for outpatients since implementation of the ICD-10 codes, Healthcare Informatics reports. Though loss in productivity can mean a disruption to the revenue cycle, one…
Escape the winter and expand your knowledge at the 2016 OR Business Management Conference
Business managers make up a relatively small percentage of perioperative services staff, but they play an increasingly important role in ensuring quality of patient care. That’s probably one reason for the growing popularity of the annual OR Business Management Conference, which will be held February 21-24, 2016, in Phoenix. The…
Connecticut voters unaware of new 6% tax on ASC procedures
Editor's Note When polled earlier this month, 79% of Connecticut voters did not know a 6% tax on ambulatory surgery center (ASC) procedures had been implemented as part of their new state budget, the West Hartford News reports. The tax, to be paid by service providers, could push 25% of…
Cost-effectiveness of enhanced recovery for colorectal patients
Editor's Note Enhanced recovery pathways are cost-effective compared with conventional perioperative management of colorectal patients, this study finds. Of 180 patients analyzed, mean length of stay was shorter (6.5 vs 9.8 days), return to work was quicker, and there was less care giver burden in the enhanced recovery group. The…
Study: Healthcare costs plummet after bariatric surgery
Editor's Note Obese patients who had gastric bypass surgery cut their healthcare costs nearly 40% after 4 years and 80% if they had type 2 diabetes preoperatively, finds this study presented at Obesity Week 2015, which is hosted by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. The main reduction…
CMS denies 10% of claims under new ICD-10 codes
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rejection rate of Medicare fee-for-service claims submitted with the new ICD-10 codes was 10.1% in October. Invalid use of ICD-9 codes resulted in the rejection of 0.11%, and 2% were not accepted because of invalid or incomplete information. More information…
Hospitals with high readmission rates penalized for the patients they serve
Clinical and social characteristics not included in Medicare’s current risk-adjustment methods explained much of the difference in readmission risk between patients admitted to hospitals with higher versus lower readmission rates, a study finds. The Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program penalizes hospitals with higher than expected 30-day readmission rates by reducing…
Business managers: A small population with a big impact on quality and efficiency
The role of business manager continues to grow in teaching, but not community, hospitals, according to the 2015 OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. Fewer than a third (29%) of OR leaders report that their hospital has a business manager, and 70% of those managers work in teaching hospitals. Other highlights from…
Free Daily News
- Study: ERAS protocol reduces opioid use after cardiac surgery
- Study: Prehabilitation reduces surgical complications, speeds recovery
- Commentary: Studies show how surgeon decisions follow the money
- Proposed HIPAA updates would improve cybersecurity, increase costs for healthcare providers
- Study: EMR data can enhance hand hygiene compliance, infection prevention
- Study: Machine learning model improves perioperative pain assessment
- Call for improved suicide risk screening in ASCs aims to strengthen safety protocols
- Study: Perioperative pregabalin reduces risk of kidney decline compared to gabapentin
- Medical school diversity declines after Supreme Court ruling
- Surgeons risk losing ground as transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions rise