Urologists advocate for resources to help surgeons prepare for, cope with adverse events
Editor's Note Adverse events are a ubiquitous, inevitable consequence of surgical practice, and more must be done to support surgeons before and after they occur. This is the central message of a video published March 27 by Urology Times, in which British urologist Kevin Turner, MA DM FRCS, of Royal…
Private payers profit by delaying medical claims
Editor's Note Private payers initially deny reimbursement on 15% of claims, only to later approve more than half of those initial denials, according to a national survey of healthcare institutions published March 21 by Premiere, Inc. Additionally, the denied claims on average tend to be more prevalent for higher-cost treatments…
Universal Recall Platform Alliance centralizes supply disruption communications, calls for members
Editor's Note Medical recall software developer Notisphere is spearheading a collaborative effort among healthcare organizations to address inefficiencies with the recall alert communication process, reduce burdens on providers, speed regulatory compliance achievement by suppliers, and enhance patient safety. As noted in the company’s March 29 announcement, the Universal Recall Platform…
How data puts the ‘value’ in value-based care
What if a surgeon decided to perform a procedure on a patient that was not totally necessary? It happens more often that one might realize. As recently as August 2023, Forbes published an article that cited a Harvard Business Review report stating that over 50% of lumbar spine surgeries are…
Medicare households have double the healthcare spending burden
Editor's Note The healthcare spending burden of Medicare households was double that of non-Medicare households in 2022, according to an analysis published by KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) on March 14. Using data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, KFF found that average health-related expenses made up 13.6% of Medicare households’ total…
Deloitte surveys 2023 outlook for healthcare systems, plans
Editor's Note Hospital leaders are preparing for what is expected to be a turbulent 2023, according to results of a December 13 survey from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, reports December 19 Healthcare Purchasing News. The majority of health system leaders said that staffing challenges (85%) and inflation (76%)…
CJR program reduced some racial differences in outcomes
Editor's Note This study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, finds that Medicare’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) program led to a reduction of racial differences in hospital readmission rates for patients having hip or knee replacement surgery. The retrospective cohort study included…
CMS cuts payments to 764 hospitals with high rates of HACs
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on January 26 announced that 764 hospitals will face payment cuts in FY 2022 under its Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program, the January 31 Advisory Board reports. Hawaii and Idaho were the only states whose hospitals did not receive penalties.…
CMS releases final Medicare payment rule for ASCs, HOPDs
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), on November 2, released its 2022 final payment rule for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs). The final rule increases Medicare prospective payment system rates by a net 2.0%—a combination of a 2.7% inflation update based on…
CMS penalizes nearly half of all hospitals for high readmission rates
Editor's Note In FY 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will penalize 2,499 (47%) hospitals for excessive patient readmissions, the October 28 Kaiser Health News reports. In its 10th year of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, CMS will cut payments to the penalized hospitals by as much…
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