Study: 7-day vs 30-day readmissions as quality indicator
Editor's Note Variation in hospital readmissions is highest on the first day and declines rapidly in the first 7 days after discharge, which suggests that most readmissions after 7 days may be due to community and household factors beyond the hospital’s control, this study finds. The analysis included hospital readmissions…
Effect of CJR episode of care definition on hospital performance
Editor's Note Comparing the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) program’s broad definition of a patient’s episode of care (ie, initial hospitalization until 90 days after discharge) with a clinically narrow definition of an episode of care, researchers found that hospital performance was consistent no matter which definition was used.…
Association between bundled payments and quality outcomes
Editor's Note In the first 21 months of the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative for total hips and knees, Medicare payments declined more for BPCI participating hospitals than nonparticipating hospitals, without a significant change in quality outcomes, this study finds. For the analysis, 31,700 total joints at 176…
Oct 1 deadline for EHR incentive program
Editor's Note First time participants in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program must attest to meaningful use for a 90-day reporting period by October 1 to avoid a payment adjustment in 2017, the September 26 AHA News reports. Returning participants must report…
Novel model predicts readmission risk
Editor's Note A novel model by researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, uses natural language processing to predict readmission risk by incorporating physical function, cognitive status, and psychosocial support--three areas that may impact readmission but are poorly captured with structured data sources. The final model had 16 variables, a…
CMS: Readmissions fall by more than 500,000
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on September 13 announced that 30-day patient readmissions fell by an estimated 565,000 over 5 years, from 2010 to 2015. Rates declined by more than 5% in 43 states and by more than 10% in 11 states. The only state…
Hospitals still using chargemaster markups to improve revenue
Editor's Note Since Medicare adopted its prospective payment system in 1985, many hospital executives and economists have suggested that the hospital chargemaster (list of prices for all hospital procedures and supplies) is irrelevant. However, in this study, researchers found that hospitals are systematically adjusting their charge-to-cost ratios (ie, chargemaster price…
CJR bundled payments may penalize hospitals that treat elderly, sickest patients
Editor's Note Hospitals that care for the oldest, sickest, and most complicated patients could suffer financially under Medicare’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) bundled payment program, this study finds. The study analyzed data from more than 23,000 Michigan patients who had hip or knee replacements at 60 hospitals in a…
CMS releases payment adjustments for 2017 EHR incentives
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that starting October 1, 2016, hospitals that are still not meaningful users of electronic health records (EHRs) will be subjected to a reduced increase in their Inpatient Prospective Payment System rate, the September 2 Healthcare IT News reports.…
Advisory panel recommends CMS remove total knees from inpatient-only list
Editor's Note The Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP) on August 22 unanimously recommended that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) remove total knees from its inpatient-only list, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) reports. CMS is requesting information on the feasibility of removing total knees from…
Free Daily News
- 3D modeling advances cardiovascular surgery at Boston Children's Hospital
- Report: Healthcare ransomware compromises millions of patient records, costs billions in downtime
- First ACS cancer report highlights neoadjuvant therapy expansion, improvements
- Hospitals continue to grapple with IV fluid shortage
- Proposed tariffs, stricter immigration policies threaten healthcare workforce, supply chain
- Hospital addresses barriers to patient rest, recovery
- Study: Psilocybin therapy reduces depression in frontline clinicians
- Exclusive articles preview OR Business Management Conference sessions
- Study: Surgeries improve survival in young BRCA-positive breast cancer patients
- Study: Advanced recovery room care could reduce long-term postoperative mortality