CMS issues final rule to increase access to affordable health plans
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 9 issued the Health and Human Services Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2019 final rule. CMS says the rule will mitigate the harmful effects of Obamacare and empower states to relax the rules on what insurers…
Important ASC Medicare quality reporting deadlines approaching
Editor's Note All eligible Medicare-certified ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) that want to avoid future penalties must complete a new electronic form by April 14 viaย the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionโs National Healthcare Safety Network website in order to report on ASC-8: Influenza Vaccination Coverage among Healthcare Personnel, the Ambulatory…
Civilian prehospital tourniquet use saves lives, limbs
Editor's Note Though still underused, this study found civilian prehospital tourniquet application tied to a six-fold reduction in mortality in peripheral vascular injuries. The Texas Tourniquet Study Group analyzed 1,026 patients with vascular injuries of the arms or legs admitted to 11 Level I trauma centers in Texas from 2011…
Joint Commission: Zero harm is achievable through high reliability
Editor's Note Joint Commission president Mark R. Chassin, MD, FACP, says he doesnโt want healthcare organizations to just imagine a day of zero harm, he wants them to achieve it, the Joint Commission announced on April 4. Dr Chassin talked about โLeading the Way to Zeroโ in an article for…
FDA announces AccessGUDID data update
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration announced that new data elements will be available on AccessGUDID, in the download files and in the APIs, as of April 2. Data for FDA Premarket Submission Number and FDA Premarket Supplement Number will not be provided until this summer. The FDA is…
EHRs hinder ability to report quality measures
Editor's Note The poor design of electronic health records (EHRs) poses challenges for primary care practices to generate the required reports for federal value-based payment programs, this study finds. An analysis of survey responses from 1,492 practices in 12 states, found that the reports generated for meaningful-use participation, which requires…
Denver hospital breach may have exposed patients to HIV, hepatitis
Editor's Note Patients at Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver may be at risk for HIV or hepatitis after the hospital discovered a surgical instrument sterilization breach, the April 5 LiveScience reports. The process for precleaning surgical instruments was found to be inadequate, which may have put patients who had orthopedic…
Joint Commission removes two medication compounding EPs
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on April 4 that it is no longer scoring two elements of performance (EPs), effective March 9, that were removed from the Medication Compounding chapter in the Home Care Accreditation program standards manual and the Compounding Sterile and Nonsterile Preparations chapter in the Medication…
Medicare program linked to reduced readmission disparities between black, white patients
Editor's Note Black and white disparities in hospital readmission rates narrowed after the introduction of Medicareโs Hospital Readmission Reduction Program that penalizes higher than expected readmissions; however, black and white gaps still persist and minority serving hospitals continued to be penalized more by the program, this study finds. During the…
Seattle surgery center patients discharged hours after joint replacement
Editor's Note At First Hill Surgery Center in Seattle, patients can have a knee or hip replaced in the morning and go home in the afternoon, the April Seattle Magazine reports. The surgical procedure takes about 2 hours, and patients admitted at 7:30 am generally are able to return home…