Quality and Safety

In the Federal Register in 2000, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Compliance Program for Individual and Small Group Physician Practices identified monitoring and auditing as one of the seven components that provide a solid basis for an effective compliance plan. And with an increase in regulatory and payer audit activity seeking to identify improper payments, it's wise for proactive physician practices to implement processes that will ensure proper compliance.

A newly released report documents the successes of a private hospitals program to safely discharge homeless patients and save money for the participating hospitals.

Last week, the Jackson Health System, a six-hospital network based in Miami, announced it will be considering proposals for outsourcing physicians, physician assistants and advance nurse practitioners in its emergency departments.

A new study from New York-based insurer Emblem Health provides evidence suggesting that inpatient point-of-care case management can both reduce patient hospital readmissions and provide a solid return on investment.

Large hospitals are big consumers of energy. Just how much is the subject of new results from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS).

With healthcare undergoing intense market transformations in payment models, revenue sources and the demands of healthcare innovation, leaders in the field need to focus on actively managing the move to value-based payments and accelerate their planning for these transitions.

A new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) showed that half of all the billings paid by Medicare in 2010 to community mental health centers for the partial hospitalization program were questionable.

With an increasing demand for home care services, home care businesses have been springing up in communities across the country. And with the rapid expansion of these largely unregulated businesses questions about the industry's hiring practices have begun to surface.

Johnson City, TN-based Mountain States Health Alliance (MSHA) has been named the recipient of the NQF's 2012 National Quality Healthcare Award. MSHA is the nineteenth organization to receive the honor.

Proponents of lean management argue that whether or not healthcare providers realize it yet, there is a major demand within their organizations for the model because, they will tell you, lean improves patient safety and reimbursement rates, and creates new standards around transparency. But getting healthcare organizations on the lean bandwagon takes leadership.