Quality and Safety

The organization estimates that $1 out of every $6 spent on healthcare in the United States is attributed to heart disease.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Monday announced the 21 health systems that are participating in the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization model, some having defected from the controversial Pioneer ACO program.

Doctors, providers and other stakeholders have until Monday to submit comment on new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain.

Imaging has aided diagnosis and helped many patients avoid exploratory surgery, but it has also spawned concerns about misuse. There is a growing awareness of the potential pitfalls of diagnostic imaging, which in the past two decades has exploded into a $100 billion-a-year business.

For years, it's been common practice for University Hospitals to switch its status to diversion. That means when medics would call the hospital, people in the emergency department would say they didn't have the room or the staff to handle the patient. The EMS team then would have to drive to another hospital.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and other organizations representing Medicare Advantage plans that serve low income and disabled populations say two options for interim relief on star quality ratings do not go far enough to address how socioeconomics affect scores.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in tandem with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, issued a request for information this week -- wanting to hear from providers and vendors as the agencies look to reduce the burden of reporting clinical quality measures.

The Commonwealth Fund has released its 2015 scorecard measuring the performance of health systems state by state, showing many regions are improving on key metrics.

Hospitals in Pennsylvania have saved close to $700 million in last few years by cutting down on readmission rates and preventing unnecessary hospitalizations, according to the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council.

Hospital giant HCA will pay $2 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that medically unnecessary and substandard heart surgeries were being performed at Fairview Park Hospital in Dublin, Georgia, the U.S Department of Justice said Tuesday.