Quality and Safety
A recent study of outcomes for common gastrointestinal problems finds that black people may fare better when treated at hospitals with more racially diverse populations.
The era of value-based reimbursement is making patient satisfaction a costly thing to ignore, and that goes for the operating room right down to the hospital cafeteria.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Thursday said it will test a new payment model that would align reimbursement rates for comprehensive assessments done at skilled nursing facilities with rates already paid to hospitals.
An $11.8 million federal diabetes prevention model tested at the YMCA saved Medicare about $2,650 for each person enrolled, enough to cover the cost of the program, according to an announcement Wednesday by Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell.
Olympus has issued updated manual reprocessing instructions for duodenoscopes that were linked to a rash of superbug infections, prompting a recall of the medical devices, earlier this year.
Though more hospitals are reporting infection rates publicly, a new report from The Leapfrog Group shows that more than half of hospitals across the country still grapple with sometimes deadly healthcare-associated infections.
Medicare's policy now has broad support from health providers and patient groups, but neither physicians nor the American Medical Association foresee a surge in end-of-life planning among Medicare's more than 50 million enrollees.
Across the country, more than 50 rural hospitals have closed over the last six years, and another 283 are in fragile financial condition, according to the National Rural Health Association.
Americans are divided about the idea of creating a single-payer government health insurance system, as Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has proposed, but support shrinks when negative arguments are highlighted and alternatives are presented, according to a poll released Thursday.
Healthgrades, an online resource for information about physicians and hospitals, has named America's 50 and 100 Best Hospitals for 2016.