Editor's Note Physician practices each year spend 785 hours per physician to track and report quality measures for Medicare and private health insurers at a cost of more than $15.4 billion a year, this study finds. Eight in 10 physicians surveyed reported spending more effort on quality measures now than…
Editor's Note Though cancer rates have remained the same, the rate of women having mastectomies increased 36% between 2005 and 2013, according to new data released February 22 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The analysis also showed the rate of double mastectomies more than tripling, and…
Editor's Note Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center paid hackers who infiltrated and disabled their electronic health record (EHR) a $17,000 ransom to unlock their system, the February 18 Modern Healthcare reports. Administrators at the Los Angeles hospital said they paid the ransom because it was the quickest and most efficient way…
Recommendations emerging from a data analytics project have helped OR leaders at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, better anticipate daily surgical case volume and share that information with their managers. Data gleaned from the project are now being used to predict staffing needs for the OR, anesthesia department,…
Surgeons often complain that their physician preference cards (PPCs) are not current, and keeping on top of the situation can be a struggle. Yet having accurate information on these cards greatly enhances both efficiency and patient safety, say surgical services leaders who have overhauled their systems. In this article, experts…
Even the most experienced OR leaders often view physician preference cards (PPCs) as a beast that acts out and demands attention at the most inconvenient times. Two organizations that have managed to tame the PPC beast shared their experiences with OR Manager. Updating cards saves more than $3.2 million Tresa…
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on January 29 issued a proposed rule that will allow organizations approved as qualified entities to confidentially share or sell analyses of Medicare and private claims data to health care providers, employers, and others. The Qualified Entity Program, authorized by the…
Editor's Note The Meaningful Use program will be ending some time in 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services acting administrator, Andy Slavitt, announced January 11. New value-based payment regulations demand a more streamlined regulatory approach, noted Slavitt, speaking at the J P Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco.…
Editor's Note A bill designed to make it easier for healthcare providers to receive hardship exemption from financial penalties for failing to meet Stage 2 meaningful use (MU) electronic health record (EHR) requirements was signed into law on December 28, 2015, the January 4, 2016, iHealthBeat reports. The bill ensures…
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on December 10 updated its Physician and Hospital Compare websites to include new data and quality measures. Among the additions: performance scores on preventive care, diabetes, cardiovascular care, and patient safety for approximately 275 group practices and 40,000 individual healthcare…