Changes in hospital referral patterns to skilled nursing facilities under HRRP
Editor's Note The Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP), which penalizes hospitals for higher-than-expected readmission rates, did not prompt substantial changes in hospital referral patterns to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), this study finds. However, readmissions for patients referred to SNFs decreased more than for other patients. In this analysis of nearly…
Hospital network participation not linked with improved outcomes, lower costs
Editor's Note Hospital network participation was not associated with improvements in surgical outcomes or Medicare expenditures, compared with hospitals not in a network, this study finds. In this analysis of nearly 2 million Medicare beneficiaries having general, vascular, cardiac, or orthopedic surgery between 2007 and 2014 at network (1,868) or…
Disadvantaged neighborhoods linked to higher readmission rates
Editor's Note Residing in a disadvantaged neighborhood in Maryland and being discharged from a hospital serving a large proportion of disadvantaged neighborhoods were independently associated with increased risk of readmission in this study. 2015 data from Maryland hospitals showed a 14.1% 30-day readmission rate for patients living in neighborhoods in…
CMS penalty program not linked to hospital safety improvements
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) hospital penalization in the Hospital Acquired Condition Reduction Program (HACRP) was not associated with significant changes in rates of hospital acquired conditions (HACs), 30-day readmissions, or 30-day mortality and does not appear to drive meaningful clinical improvements, this study finds.…
CMS finalizes coverage policy for TAVR
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on June 21 issued final updates to its national coverage policy for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR). The update provides more flexibility in how centers meet volume requirements for performing TAVR, while emphasizing the importance of the heart team for…
CMS selects ECRI Institute for NQIIC designation
Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on June 20 announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) had awarded it with the Network of Quality Improvement and Innovation Contractors (NQIIC) designation. With this designation and partnering with other quality improvement contractors under the new CMS Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quanity (IDIQ)…
Editorial
The Leapfrog Group’s spring 2019 Hospital Safety Grade Report shows some progress in patient safety: an estimated 160,000 avoidable deaths nationwide, down from 205,000 in 2016. But 160,000 is a large number. “There’s still a lot of needless death and harm in American hospitals,” says Leah Binder, Leapfrog’s president and…
CMS seeking comments on Patients over Paperwork initiative
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced June 6 that it is seeking new ideas on how to continue the progress of its Patients over Paperwork initiative. The initiative, which was launched in fall of 2017, has already cut the “red tape” that weighs down the…
Association of changes to Hospital Readmission Reduction Program with changes in penalties
Editor's Note Stratification of hospitals in Medicare’s Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) was associated with a significant shift in hospital penalties for excess readmissions, this study finds. Beginning in FY 2019, Medicare is stratifying hospitals into five peer groups based on the proportions of each hospital’s patient population that is…
CMS Physician Compare website lacks physician data
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Compare website contains quality information on just 23.3% of the more than 1 million physicians who care for Medicare patients, this study finds. A total of 76.6% of physician had no performance data, and almost none (99.7%) listed on…
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