Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced August 7 that hospitals and critical access hospitals participating in  Medicare’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program will submit their “meaningful use” data via QualityNet rather than the EHR Incentive Program Registration and Attestation System beginning January 2, 2018,…

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Editor's Note The Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, was ranked the nation’s top hospital by US News & World Report in its 2017-2018 Honor Roll of Best Hospitals. The Honor Roll consists of 20 hospitals with the highest combined overall scores in 16 medical-surgical specialties. Cleveland Clinic was second, Johns Hopkins…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on August 2 issued the FY 2018 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System final rule, which updates Medicare payment and policies when patients are discharged from hospitals. The rule increases rates by 1.2%. This includes an initial market-basket update of 2.7%…

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Editor's Note From 2005 to 2014, the average inflation-adjusted cost of a hospital inpatient stay increased by 12.7%, from $9,500 to $10,900, according to new statistics from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Average costs for stays increased: 16% for Medicaid 18% for private insurance 8% for Medicare…

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Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on July 31 announced a new free white paper titled, “Value Analysis: Best Practices for Navigating the Evidence Maze. The white paper features three case studies that show how hospital value analysis committees can use the PICOTS (patients, intervention, comparators, outcomes, time frame for follow-up,…

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Each year, the OR Manager Conference showcases the latest hybrid OR technology along with expert advice from clinicians and manufacturers. The 2017 conference (October 2-4 in Orlando, Florida) will feature an extensive exhibit and opportunities to interact with the Hybrid OR Steering Committee members (sidebar, p 15): • Monday, 2…

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The inaugural Bundled Payment Bootcamp on June 20 in Nashville, Tennessee, was a timely opportunity for healthcare providers to learn how reimbursement is changing the way they do business. Though the uncertain direction of US healthcare legislation continues to cause consternation, this workshop—which will be presented again in fall 2017—clarifies…

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Medicare is increasing approval of higher-acuity procedures performed in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) setting, creating meaningful opportunities for ASCs. At the same time, however, a number of outpatient procedure codes have been deleted, reduced, or are packaged and considered all-inclusive in a case, without additional payment. “Key changes occurred…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on July 11 announced a list of 1,003 Class II devices that the Agency says no longer require premarket notification to provide reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness. The exemptions were made in an effort to decrease regulatory burdens on the medical…

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Editor's Note In the annual Physician Practice Preference & Relocation Survey from The Medicus Firm, nearly 3 in 10 physicians say concerns about appropriate compensation is the primary reason they would consider a career change, the July 5 FierceHealthcare reports. More than 17% of respondents say they will “likely” or…

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