Quality and Safety
The use of generic prescription drugs has risen to a current rate of $1 billion every other day, saving the U.S. healthcare system more than $1 trillion over the last 10 years (2002-2011), according to a report released Thursday by the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA).
In fiscal year 2013, inpatient hospital payments will be increasing by 2.3 percent ($2.5 billion) under the final rule for the hospital inpatient and long-term care hospital prospective payment systems (PPS). The final rule was issued Wednesday night by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
A letter bearing the Friends of the AHRQ seal and the signatures of 139 organizations including the AAFP, illustrated the distress the bill has promoted within the minds and hearts of primary care advocates and initiates the nation over.
In 2010, Arkansas hospitals contributed an estimated $10.3 billion to the state's economy and directly employed 42,300 people, according to a recent report published by the Arkansas Hospital Association.
The National Quality Forum Board of Directors has endorsed 19 measures related to pulmonary conditions, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia.
The newest monthly Physician Wellbeing Index from online medical learning network QuantiaMD shows that 26 percent of primary care physicians report poor financial health.
A new report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services shows that health insurers that offer commercial and Medicare plans operate at a loss for their Medicaid plans, while those that specialize in Medicaid only operate at a profit.
On Friday, the Mayo Clinic and Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) in New Hampshire announced a formal collaboration with the goal of improving health and healthcare quality at both institutions while lowering overall costs.
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is now offering a case management accreditation program and three organizations have already signed on.
According to a recent report published in the August issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) doubled at academic medical centers nationwide in five years.