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.…
PSH Learning Collaborative gains participants in phase two
The perioperative surgical home (PSH) has been gaining momentum, with early results linking it to lower costs, better quality, fewer emergency department (ED) visits and readmissions, and shorter stays in skilled nursing facilities or none at all. In February, the PSH Learning Collaborative, a partnership between the American Society of…
PSH provides affordable, reliable care for adult and pediatric patients
Affordable, reliable care for adult and pediatric patients alike is the hallmark of the perioperative surgical home (PSH), as demonstrated by two organizations that are using PSH programs: a community health system and a children’s hospital. Leaders from both organizations shared their PSH journeys with OR Manager. Lower costs, shorter…
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…
VBP program rewards 231 low-quality hospitals
Editor's Note Through its Value Based Purchasing (VBP) program, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) paid bonuses to 231 hospitals with lower quality because their patients were less expensive, this study finds. CMS began measuring both spending and quality in FY 2015 to encourage hospitals to provide more…
AHA asks CMS to suspend VBP pain questions
Editor's Note The American Hospital Association (AHA) on April 29 asked the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to suspend their pain-related questions in the Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program until concerns are addressed that the questions may contribute to the opioid epidemic, AHA News Now reports. The AHA says…
Teaching hospitals penalized for aggressive screening
Editor's Note Nearly half of US academic medical centers are being penalized by Medicare because their aggressive screening of patients leads to identification of more infections and other complications that trigger penalties, the April 20 Kaiser Health News reports. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) maintains that the…
Value-based payment raises quality stakes in patient care
Although many healthcare providers are still struggling to implement a value-based payment (VBP) model, everyone knows that the train has left the station and adjustments must be made. Shifting to a VBP system, expanding surgical patient care to “population health,” and developing a new generation of perioperative nurses are among…
Inpatient PPS proposed rule drops two-midnight payment cuts
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 18 issued its hospital inpatient prospective payment system (PPS) proposed rule for FY 2017 that includes two adjustments to reverse the effects of the 0.2% cut it instituted when implementing the two-midnight rule, AHA News Now reports. Included…
Free Daily News
- 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
- FDA designates Class 1 recalls for balloon catheters, radiographic markers
- Orthopedic surgery in 2025: Embracing innovation, preserving autonomy
- Medtronic, Zimmer Biomet challenge Intuitive Surgical’s robotic surgery dominance
- Anthem’s anesthesia time limit policy, reversal sparks new legislation
- Simple procedure or ‘surgery’? Questionable medical billing practices cause confusion