Quality and Safety
The case for collaboration in accountable care networks is getting a boost in the Puget Sound (Wash.) region.
Accountable care organizations can be risky business. ACO care partners must be able to depend on one another for proper patient handling, data flow, clinical cooperation, revenue sharing and other agreed-upon measures.
The change from a fee-for-service healthcare model to a value-based approach might be inevitable, but that doesn't mean it's happening quickly. In fact, the majority of providers remain tied to the old model.
The CFO of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, says the move towards value-based payment models helps the hospital emphasize value of care over volume, which reduces readmissions.
There's a great deal at stake in hospital sourcing and the management of medical supplies. A focus on lowering costs by standardized purchasing of drugs or devices can't come at the expense of compromising high-quality care.
Two healthcare organizations have won the the U.S. Commerce Department's annual Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, for providing a high quality patient experience with sustainable financing.
Millions of low-income children are failing to get the free preventive exams and screenings guaranteed by Medicaid and the Obama administration is not doing enough to fix the problem, according to the HHS Office of Inspector General.
Most hospitals already have in place plans to cope with disasters such as tornadoes and plane crashes, but the Ebola virus presents a different challenge. Because of the risk and expense involved, a hospital's CFO should be an integral part of Ebola planning and preparation efforts.
Bon Secours Health System wants to ensure discharged patients get the care and attention they need without being unnecessarily readmitted to the hospital. To that end, they're launching a new population health and care management program.
For some nurses, the emergence of the Ebola virus is increasing a sense of hospital leadership's underinvestment and under-appreciation. The resulting union-driven strikes could cost health systems in their budgets and reputations.