Quality and Safety

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill Wednesday to increase user fees paid by pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers looking to bring new products to the market. The bill passed easily by a vote of 387-5.

According to a study released Tuesday by the Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA), hospitals see substantial cost savings and greater employee and time efficiencies by maximizing their spend through a distributor, particularly in the areas of product ordering and receiving.

A multi-billion dollar federal initiative to move low-income elderly and disabled people from long-term care facilities into the community has fallen far short of its goals, as many states have struggled to cobble together housing and other services.

Cigna and Granite Healthcare Network, comprising five independent charitable healthcare organizations, have announced the formation of what the two organizations are calling the largest accountable care organization (ACO) in New Hampshire.

A new HealthGrades report on patient safety and satisfaction rates in hospitals across the country finds that hospitals with the highest patient ratings for physician and nursing communications on average have had fewer problems with patient safety issues.

Letters sent last Friday to House Ways and Means Committee chairs Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Wally Herger (R-Calif.) from the American Medical Association (AMA) and Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) suggest a number of different payment approaches aimed at a long-term solution to the current Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR).

Healthcare providers who offer extended payment terms to help patients meet rapidly increasing financial liabilities are exposing their organizations to a series of complex consumer credit compliance obligations due to increased regulations by federal and state agencies.

The stakes are high for the upcoming ICD-10 conversion and the consequences for organizations that don't properly prepare may be severe.

During testimony last week at the Oversight Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee hearing, Irving, Texas-based VHA Inc., said that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Schedule H amendment, which regulates reporting for tax-exempt organizations, has overly burdensome requirements for non-profit hospitals.

All aspects of social media were addressed during the Connecting Healthcare + Social Media conference last week in New York, with one of the most pressing issues being how to see financial return from your social media efforts. Chris Boyer, director of digital marketing and communications at Inova, outlined five keys to get a solid ROI from your social media.