Quality and Safety

Health plans with a high proportion of dual-eligible members may be at a disadvantage for receiving quality incentive payments, suggests a new study.

Like many, doctors see the appeal of mobile applications, but they have been cautious about using them in their practices. But now that the FDA has issued its final guidance on medical mobile applications, the path is clearer on how these tools can be used in offices.

After launching an accountable care organization program a year and a half ago, WESTMED Medical Group has improved quality metrics, increased patient satisfaction and just recently received a big bonus check for its results.

Merger and acquisition activity within the healthcare sector was up in the third quarter of 2013, according to a report from M&A data publisher Irving Levin Associates.

You recently rejoined the private equity world after a number of years working in the national healthcare policy arena. Why did you re-enter private equity and what are some of your investment goals with Consonance Capital Partners?

ABIM has focused on credentialing and opening discussions about unnecessary care. How will you build on those and what future projects can you see yourself involved in through ABIM and the ABIM Foundation?

A survey examining how U.S. hospitals are addressing CMS 30-day readmission penalties found that most facilities agree on what core strategies work the best for reducing preventable readmissions. Post-acute care coordination is near the top of the list.

A New York state hospital association has put out a report card grading the quality of hospital graders. Five of the 10 report cards that were evaluated were given low marks.

A larger number of hospitals are showing improvements in their quality of care said the Joint Commission in its annual report on quality and safety of hospitals.

While the ultimate goal of zero patient harm in hospitals has been largely elusive, there could be hope for progress by adapting lessons from high-risk industries.