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 Medicare’s 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…
Outpatient vs inpatient anterior cervical discectomy, fusion
Editor's Note Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) can be performed on an outpatient basis with comparable morbidity, readmission rates, and lower costs as on an inpatient basis, finds this study. In this analysis of 3,135 outpatient and 46,966 inpatient ACDFs, the mean Charlson comorbidity index, length of stay, and…
BCBS pilots hip, knee bundled model
Editor's Note Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Michigan is piloting a bundled payment program for hip and knee replacements, the March 27 HealthcareDive reports. The pilot, which includes 64 surgeons at seven healthcare systems, will use a mix of inpatient and outpatient settings in an effort to reduce the…
AHRQ: Increased revenues, not cost reductions linked to improved profits
Editor's Note Increased revenues had a greater impact than decreased costs in hospitals that became more profitable between 2003 and 2013, finds this Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) study published February 14 online ahead of print in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. In this analysis of 2,824…
ECRI Institute issues free white paper on purchased services best practices
Editor's note The ECRI Institute on April 2 issued a free white paper on “5 Ways to Drive Savings and Quality on Your Purchased Services.” The 5 key areas to consider when developing a best practice process to evaluate purchased services, reduce spending, and make informed vendor selections are: Making…
Influence of traffic, other factors on OR microbial load
Editor's Note Movement in the OR is associated with microbial load, this study finds. Researchers determined areas in the OR with high and low numbers of people in transit and placed air samplers and settle plates in representative locations during 21 surgical procedures, in four ORs, during two seasons of…
FDA: Class I recall of BD Vacutainer® blood collection tubes
Author's Note The Food & Drug Administration on March 23 announced the Class I recall of Becton Dickinson (BD) Vacutainer® EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) blood collection tubes with lavender, tan, pink, and green rubber tube stoppers. Class I recalls are the most serious. The recall was initiated because of a chemical…
The Evolution of Value Analysis: Moving From Reactive to Strategic
Free Webinar: The Evolution of Value Analysis: Moving From Reactive to Strategic Wednesday, April 25, 2018 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. EST
Association of frailty with failure to rescue after inpatient surgery
Editor's Note Frailty is an important risk factor for postoperative complications and failure to rescue, after both low-risk and high-risk surgical procedures, this study finds. In this study of 984,550 patients in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, there was a dose-response association between increasing patient…