Quality and Safety
The percentage of babies born prematurely fell to 11.4 percent in 2013, according to a new report. Officials say the ACA's expansion of Medicaid to adults with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level has played a role.
Since 2005, Denver Health has saved more than $200 million as a result of using a lean management philosophy to fine-tune operations and clinical processes. That's especially important these days, as hospitals and health systems have assumed more financial risk in delivering care.
When Medicare started tracking patient satisfaction in late 2012, and shaving payments to hospitals that fell short, patient experience was put high on hospitals’ agendas. And, as patients’ out-of-pocket costs have risen, they have become savvier, more demanding consumers.
California's public health department has failed to adequately manage investigations of nursing homes statewide, resulting in a backlog of more than 11,000 complaints -- many involving serious safety risks to patients, according to an audit released last week.
In coming years, health systems will likely take on more risk for the health outcomes of their patient populations. If they are looking to prepare for the inevitable, support programs for Type 2 diabetes may be a good place to start.
More than 83 percent of physician practices do not believe current Medicare physician quality reporting programs enhanced their physicians' ability to provide high-quality patient care, according to new research released Monday.
The Lean process improvement philosophy can bring significant cultural change to a healthcare organization, if there is strong support from the C-suite. But what happens when a Lean-supporting CEO departs? Here is a cautionary tale.
At the behest of affected patients and providers, Intermountain Healthcare decided to build what it calls a Personalized Care Clinic, an initiative that has the look of a patient-centered medical home, but offers services for a specific patient demographic facing complex, ongoing medical issues.
Improving the health of at-risk, vulnerable and chronically sick populations remains a massive challenge for healthcare organizations' financial administrators. In order to properly manage complex populations, comprehensive and reliable data on patient health and demographics are required.
An article published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine casts doubt that malpractice reform would reduce the use of supposed "defensive medicine."