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Electronic tracking system reduces blood transfusions, infections
Editor's Note An electronic blood tracking system that monitors how physicians prescribe postoperative blood transfusions significantly reduced the amount of blood patients receive and cut infection rates in half, according to a study presented October 7 at the 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons in Chicago. The…
Achieving quality improvement depends on the local culture
The key to sustaining quality outcomes is promoting confidence and engagement of surgical teams, says Clifford Ko, MD, MS, MSHS, FACS, director of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care, at the American College of Surgeons in Chicago. Dr Ko gave the keynote…
ICD-10 transition begins well, further tests coming
Editor's Note The ICD-10 transition began well last week because of the time and effort spent preparing the new codes, but claims rejections could cause further problems towards the end of the month, according to Modern Healthcare. Organizations most likely to have trouble will be the smaller providers and health…
ASCs reduce spine surgery costs, maintain quality
Editor's Note A study presented at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons annual meeting found that performing spine procedures in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) can reduce costs while sustaining patient satisfaction scores, Spine Surgery Today reports. Of 1,000 spine procedures performed in an ASC, eight patients had to be transferred to…
GAO: Modest effects from Value-based Purchasing program
Editor's Note A new Government Accountability Office report shows that hospital performance on most quality measures was improving before the Affordable Care Act’s Hospital Value-based Purchasing (VBP) program began in 2012 and has not noticeably changed since then, according to the AHA News. Most inpatient prospective payment system hospitals eligible…
ICD-10 debuts October 1
Editor's Note The healthcare industry transitioned to the ICD-10 system October 1, expanding procedure codes from 14,000 to 70,000 for providers and from 44,000 to 72,000 for hospitals. Medicare officials say they won’t deny claims to providers solely for lack of specificity for the first 12 months, but that doesn’t…
Designing and implementing bundled payment program for total hips
Editor's Note A bundled payment program for total hip replacement was associated with similar total costs, lower posthospital costs, shorter length of stay, and similar or higher quality hospital care, in this study. Compared to controls, bundled payment patients had similar length of stay (3.0 vs 3.4 days), higher rates…
CMS unsure of ICD-10 readiness until processing begins
Editor's Note A Government Accountability Office study finds that although extensive testing of transition to ICD-10 codes has been done, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will not know the true functionality of the systems until code processing begins October 1, Becker’s Health IT & CIO Review reports.…
Shared-savings program for surgical supplies decreases costs
Editor's Note Incentivizing surgeons to standardize surgical supplies led to dramatic cost savings in this study. A shared-savings program that returned 50% of money saved on surgical supplies to the surgery division realized a total cost-savings of $893,865. A total of $446,932 was shared with 15 surgery divisions. Quality of…
ASCs playing bigger role in reining in costs
Editor's Note As the Affordable Care Act continues to pass more costs to patients through higher deductibles and premiums, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are positioning themselves as cost-effective and convenient alternatives to traditional hospitals, the September 17 Central Valley Business Journal reports. ASCs provide efficient, high-quality procedures, and discharge home…
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