Hospitals provide economic boost to their communities
The value of hospitals to the communities they serve extends far beyond healthcare and plays an important role in supporting the economy. The TrendWatch report, prepared by Avalere Health LLC, found that hospitals not only provide healthcare services to the community but also stimulate demand for goods and services produced by local businesses. According to federal data, all payments to hospitals totaled $648 billion in 2006. That year, community hospitals spent about $286 billion on goods and services in addition to employee wages.
GAO urges more prevention of hospital infections
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, healthcare-associated infections are one of the top 10 causes of death in the United States. The U.S. Government Accountability Office is urging the government to do more to help prevent infections that patients acquire in hospitals while being treated for other conditions. The GAO recommends the government increase efforts to guide hospitals to prevent infections. The Department of Health and Human Services should identify priorities for preventing infections from a list developed by the CDC. The GAO said HHS should do a better job of collecting data on hospital-acquired infections.
Tenet signs contract with Viant Holdings
The Tenet Healthcare Corp. has signed a multi-year agreement with Viant Holdings, Inc., a Naperville, Ill.-based company that operates managed care networks. The agreement includes all Tenet hospitals, outpatient and ambulatory centers and employed physicians and enables Tenet to standardize and simplify the contracts that its facilities have with networks operated by Viant. The agreement is one of a string of contracts that Tenet has signed with major payers, including UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and Cigna.
CMS Web site GETS more buying data to consumers
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has updated the Hospital Compare Web site to give consumers more information about their hospitals. CMS officials said the new Web site will give patients more robust information to help them shop for hospital care based on quality and pricing. In addition to adding new information from Medicare patients about their hospital stays, CMS is adding information about the number of elective hospital procedures provided to those patients and what Medicare pays for those services.