Quality and Safety

Research has shown that healthcare organizations with high employee engagement scores tend to have better patient outcomes overall, according to Murat Philippe, principal consultant at Avatar HR Solutions in Chicago.

Hospitals and healthcare systems across the country will soon be facing large cuts in Medicare if the U.S. Congress cannot reach an agreement on an alternative deficit reduction plan in order to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, therefore it's a good idea for these organizations to start being proactive.

Increased adoption of consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) and an increased emphasis on employee health management programs helped U.S. employers hold their health benefit cost increases to an average of 4.1 percent in 2012, the lowest average annual increase since 1997, according to a new survey from global consulting firm Mercer.

In a new study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, it was found that after examining patients suffering from pneumonia and heart failure, a broad range of social factors affect the risk of post-discharge readmission and mortality.

The message that home- and community-based care is more cost effective than institutional care has been touted by federal and local governments and those within the healthcare community, but a new comparative effectiveness review of long-term care of older adults receiving home- and community-based services versus care in institutions concludes that there is not enough evidence in the literature to determine cost effectiveness.

A new report indicates that while U.S. primary care physicians still trail their counterparts in other countries in their use of electronic medical records (EMRs), they are making progress and are finding more efficiencies through EMR use.

As many as 31 million Americans now receive healthcare through an accountable care organization (ACO) according to a recent report from industry consulting company Oliver Wyman.

The 2012 HomeCare Elite, a list of the top performing home health agencies in the United States, was announced Tuesday.

Healthcare reform is fundamentally changing the way hospitals are run. A combination of crushing costs, government edicts and fierce competition for the millions of newly insured patients that will result from federal healthcare legislation is putting the patient front and center.

In an effort to control costs and get people covered by health insurance, the Affordable Care Act offers a number of options for covering low-income people. Among those options is the Basic Health Program, which some say will save money and others say will kill health insurance exchanges.