Quality and Safety

A lot of talk these days has focused on transparency in government. Transparency in healthcare is important, too.

More than 60 percent of self-insured employers in the United States are expected to offer a consumer-driven healthcare plan this year. Many of them – and their employees – will need to know how to “shop” for healthcare services.

Many vendors give short shrift to the usability of their electronic medical records, says Jiajie Zhang, who is devoting the next three-plus years to addressing this usability factor.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today issued a proposed rule that would increase Medicare payment rates under the IRF Prospective Payment System (PPS) by a projected 1.5 percent in fiscal year 2012 - an estimated $120 million nationwide.

Highmark Inc. recently announced it would launch a two-year, patient-centered medical home pilot project.

The California Department of Managed Health Care has asked Blue Shield of California to justify a 37.5 percent increase for approximately 70,000 members who are in managed care plans.

The Department of Labor has released a competency model for the long-term care industry that officials hope will solve long-standing issues of low wages and a high staff turnover rate.

Is it too early to start thinking about the 2012 elections and potential candidates' takes on healthcare? I don't think so.

Getting a good deal on things we need. These days, it’s not a “nice to have,” it’s a “must have” for managing our personal expenses.

Brian Goldberg, an architecture teacher at the Rhode Island School of Design, said he was talking to a physicist about the development of a medical device for patients who need 24/7 monitoring for a heart attack for the rest of their lives when he began to think of how artists and designers could impact the healthcare system.