Editor's Note Using financial data from California’s short-term and specialty hospitals from FY 2005 to FY 2014, researchers from the UCLA School of Medicine provide the first standardized estimates of OR costs. The analysis, which focused on two revenue centers--surgery/recovery and ambulatory surgery--found that the mean cost of OR time…
Editor's Note Healthcare employment in the US rose in January to a seasonally adjusted 15,888,400 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on February 2. That’s 20,600 more workers than in December and 294,900 more than a year ago. ESTABLISHMENT DATA Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector…
Editor's Note Physicians are more likely to leave the profession or reduce their hours if they are uncomfortable using electronic health records (EHRs), the January 24 Medical Economics reports. Although EHRs have the potential to enhance quality of care and clinical coordination, they also increase risk of physician burnout, reduce…
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced December 21 that it updated data on its Hospital Compare website and will update the Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating using a new methodology that will give more hospitals one or five stars. CMS had postponed the release of…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission has selected Chicago-based Apervita’s platform to enable thousands of hospitals with ORYX data reporting requirement to directly submit electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) data in 2018, the November 14 Healthcare Informatics reports. Since the shift to eCQM data submission began 2 years ago, the Joint…
Editor's Note Despite the expansion of requirements for electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) reporting to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an increased number of Joint Commission accredited hospitals are adopting and reporting eCQMs to drive quality improvement, the Joint Commission reports. In 2016, 470 accredited hospitals submitted eCQM…
Editor's Note A study from the American Hospital Association (AHA) finds that the regulatory burden faced by healthcare providers is substantial and unsustainable, the October 25 AHA News Now reports. Hospitals, health systems, and post-acute care providers spend nearly $39 billion annually on administrative activities to comply with federal…
Each day seems to bring new tasks for leaders of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), adding to their already overflowing plate. One task that can easily fall off that plate is collecting and analyzing metrics, yet failing to do so can have serious financial consequences. OR Manager recently asked ASC leaders…
Editor's Note The American Medical Association (AMA) and its partners, including the American Medical Informatics Association, IBM, and Cerner, are developing an integrated platform for clinical informatics and big data analytics, the October 16 HealthIT Analytics reports. The aim of the physician-led Integrated Health Model Initiative is to help healthcare…
Editor's Note In a survey from the HealthCare Executive Group, clinical and data analytics was was the top of 10 challenges the healthcare industry will face in 2018, the October 9 Becker’s Health IT & CIO Review reports. Value-based payments was third, cybersecurity was sixth, and mobile health technology was…