Bariatric surgery outcomes in accredited vs nonaccredited centers
Editor's Note Patients who have bariatric surgery at nonaccredited bariatric surgical centers are 1.4 times likelier to have serious complications and more than twice as likely to die after the procedure compared to those who have surgery in accredited centers, this study finds. In this review of more than 1.5…
CMS releases OPPS, ASC proposed rule for 2017
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 14 published the 2017 Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System policy changes, quality provisions, and payment rates proposed rule. Among the proposals: an increase in OPPS payment rates by 1.55%--a combination…
CMS: Final rule allows selling of claims data
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 1 released a final rule that allows certain CMS-approved organizations, including for-profit companies and government entities, to buy Medicare claims and other federal data at a price matching the governments’ cost of processing the data, Modern Healthcare reports.…
MPSMS data show sharp decline in patient harm from 2010 to 2014
Editor's Note There were 2.1 million fewer patient harms between 2010 and 2014, resulting in thousands fewer accidental deaths and billions of dollars in health cost savings, finds this analysis of the Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System (MPSMS). The analysis found that from 2005 to 2011, the rate of adverse…
Healthcare providers struggling to transition to VBP
Editor's Note Moving to information systems and data requirements of the new value-based payment (VBP) reimbursement system is proving to be a daunting challenge for healthcare providers, the June 13 Health Data Management reports. A survey of healthcare executives from 190 hospitals shows that only 3% of respondents provide more…
Reminder: July 1 is deadline to apply for 'meaningful use' hardship exception
Editor's Note Eligible hospitals, critical access hospitals, and professionals who did not achieve "meaningful use" in the Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program for the 2015 reporting period have until July 1 to apply for a hardship exception from the 2017 payment adjustment. The streamlined hardship applications reduce the…
Effects of Medicare bundled payments for colectomy
Editor's Note In this study from Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, payments for colectomy under Medicare’s Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative were lower than a fee-for-service payment model, and the proportion of patients contributing to a net negative margin increased. Net negative margins were calculated as the difference between total hospital…
Surgery at critical access hospitals safe, less expensive
Editor's Note In this study, Medicare patients having common surgical procedures at critical access hospitals had no significant difference in 30-day mortality than those at noncritical access hospitals (5.4% vs 5.6%), and they had lower rates of serious complications (6% vs 14%) and lower expenditures ($14,450 vs $15, 845). The…
Make it your business to grow a healthy bottom line
In this challenging healthcare environment, OR leaders have a fiscal responsibility to help hospitals meet financial goals that contribute to a healthy bottom line. There is no more expensive procedure you can have in the hospital than to spend time in the OR,” says Keith Siddel, PhDc, JD, MBA, CHC.…
Public reporting measures don’t indicate hospital safety
Editor's Note Common measures used to rate hospital safety, such as the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Patient Safety Indicators and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital-acquired Conditions, do not accurately capture the quality of care provided, this study finds. Only one measure out of…
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