Quality and Safety
With concern over primary care shortages not likely to abate any time soon, the debate over using nurse practitioners to fill in the gaps continues. A new policy brief released by Health Affairs last month outlines the issues.
To get better care for patients and lower costs, it's important to stitch together the experience of patients both while they're in the hospital and immediately afterwards.
New York City hospitals scrambled to ensure patient safety in the overwhelming aftermath of post-tropical storm Sandy, which caused unprecedented flooding and widespread power outages.
In a press conference on Tuesday morning, New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie said 91 healthcare facilities throughout the state, including 29 hospitals and 58 long-term care facilities, had reported losing power due to post-tropical storm Sandy.
As Hurricane Sandy made her approach into the New Jersey and New York coastlines, Hackensack University Medical Center, in Hackensack, N.J., was busy taking all possible precautions and preparations in order to continue to safely provide necessary patient care and ensure sufficient supply levels.
At the same time the government is encouraging healthcare providers, doctors and insurance companies to digitize healthcare information, the landscape for attacking that info is increasing dramatically. One industry insider provides seven tips for how to prevent a data breach.
According to a recent study released by the North Dakota Hospital Association, North Dakota hospitals and their employees contribute an estimated $4.7 billion each year to the state economy.
In light of the recent Readmissions Reduction Program under the Affordable Care Act, numerous hospitals and medical industry experts are examining new approaches that will decrease the rate of hospital readmissions. "The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates $15 billion is spent annually on readmissions for Medicare patients, with $12 billion of that amount being preventable," said Jeff Huber.
The Federal Trade Commission recently held a daylong workshop to examine the ways pet medications are distributed in the U.S. and how the current practices affect consumer choice and price competition. Pet meds are big business -- American consumers spend $7 billion on them annually -- and veterinarians and pharmacists are wrangling for their piece of the pie.
With medication shortages, patient safety and accurate dosing creating daily challenges, some providers have found financial benefits in pharmacy automation solutions.