CMS finalizes changes to bundled-payment models
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 30 announced a final rule that cancels the mandatory hip fracture and cardiac bundled-payment models, which were to begin on January 1, 2018, and implements changes to the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) Model. In the final…
Cost-benefit analysis of OR air change rates
Editor's Note Increasing OR ventilation rates to improve outcomes and reduce surgical site infections did not provide cleaner air but did increase operating costs in this study. Air quality was measured at different ventilation rates in three ORs. Increasing air change rates did not provide an overall cleaner environment. Significant…
Joint Commission announces new tool to help with accreditation, CMS compliance
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on November 29 announced a new software tool, “Tracers with AMPTM plus CMS,” to help hospitals and critical access hospitals manage their Joint Commission accreditation and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) compliance efforts. The tool is a web-based platform that stores a hospital’s…
Examining surgical outcomes to identify procedures needing additional QI efforts
Editor's Note This analysis of 10 surgical procedures accrued into the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) between 2008 and 2015, identified which procedures improved the most from QI efforts and which needed more. Hepatectomy demonstrated the greatest improvement across the greatest number of outcomes…
November 30 is deadline to avoid EHR payment adjustment
Editor's Note November 30 is the deadline for critical access hospitals that did not achieve meaningful use for the 2016 reporting period to submit hardship forms to avoid a 2018 payment adjustment, the November 27 AHA News Now reports. Inpatient prospective payment system hospitals that did not achieve meaningful use…
EHR vendor linked to MU performance of hospitals
Editor's Note A study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association found that some electronic health record (EHR) vendors consistently outperform others, the November 27 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. Epic had the highest performance on five of six meaningful use (MU) stage 2 criteria, including view, download, and…
Study shows large shift in cataract surgery from hospitals to ASCs
Editor's Note National data show a large shift in cataract surgeries from hospitals to less expensive ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), where care can be delivered faster and closer to home, this study finds. From 2001 to 2014, the proportion of cataract surgeries performed at ASCs increased steadily from 43.6% to…
FDA approves first implanted lens that can be adjusted after cataract surgery
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 22 announced the approval of RxSight Inc’s (Pasadena, California) Light Adjustable Lens and Light Delivery Device. This is the first system that allows ophthalmologists to make small adjustments to the implanted lens’ power after cataract surgery to improve visual…
Association of HRRP with surgical readmissions
Editor's Note The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) decreased readmissions for targeted procedures, but no association was found for nontargeted procedures in this study. This analysis of 672,135 Medicare patients treated at 2,773 hospitals included 507,663 patients who had total knee or hip arthroplasty procedures (targeted) and 164, 472 who…
Survey finds lack of support for texting of medical orders
Editor's Note A survey released November 16 by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices found that many healthcare providers do not support the texting of medical orders. Of 778 respondents, which included nurses, pharmacists, physicians and other prescribers, medication/patient safety officers, and quality risk managers, 33% did not believe medical…