Quality and Safety

Though supply chain professionals are keenly aware of the importance of quality and cost, their clinical counterparts may not be as familiar with an organized movement to link these two components with patient outcomes.

When Medicare started tracking patient satisfaction in late 2012, and shaving payments to hospitals that fell short, patient experience was put high on hospitals’ agendas. And, as patients’ out-of-pocket costs have risen, they have become savvier, more demanding consumers.

California's public health department has failed to adequately manage investigations of nursing homes statewide, resulting in a backlog of more than 11,000 complaints -- many involving serious safety risks to patients, according to an audit released last week.

In coming years, health systems will likely take on more risk for the health outcomes of their patient populations. If they are looking to prepare for the inevitable, support programs for Type 2 diabetes may be a good place to start.

More than 83 percent of physician practices do not believe current Medicare physician quality reporting programs enhanced their physicians' ability to provide high-quality patient care, according to new research released Monday.

At the behest of affected patients and providers, Intermountain Healthcare decided to build what it calls a Personalized Care Clinic, an initiative that has the look of a patient-centered medical home, but offers services for a specific patient demographic facing complex, ongoing medical issues.

Health systems as well as independent providers have an opportunity to drive best practices in specialty care and secure sustainable revenue with a new business and care model.

Seismic changes altering the healthcare industry are creating an increasing number of compliance requirements for hospitals and health systems to meet. This means a larger role for an organization's chief compliance officer.

This week the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services expanded the agency's Five Star Quality Rating System for Nursing Homes, and proposed new conditions of participation for home health agencies.

With 25 million Americans set to be insured through exchange plans over the next decade, some health systems are finding a competitive advantage in branding their own health networks, improving on the concept that entered the market with the name "narrow networks."