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Quality and Safety

By Chris Anderson | 11:14 am | December 20, 2011
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the 32 health systems that will participate in the Pioneer Accountable Care Organization program, which government officials say could save Medicare as much as $1.1 billion.
By Mike Miliard | 10:14 am | December 20, 2011
More than half of health system and insurance executives recently surveyed by KPMG, law firm Epstein Becker Green and The JHD Group indicated they are still undecided about whether their organizations will participate in the Medicare ACO program.
By Chris Anderson | 10:47 am | December 19, 2011
High hospital readmission rates among Medicare patients are closely tied to higher overall hospital admission rates, according to a study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine.
By Stephanie Bouchard | 10:30 am | December 19, 2011
Three of the top six most significant data breaches of 2011 took place in the healthcare industry says the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer protection and advocacy organization.
By Stephanie Bouchard | 03:18 pm | December 16, 2011
As President Barack Obama noted Thursday when introducing proposed regulations for minimum wage and overtime protection for home healthcare workers, the home healthcare workforce is the largest and fastest growing in the country. A new analysis finds that required training for some of these workers has gone largely unchanged in almost 25 years.
By Rene Letourneau | 03:38 pm | December 15, 2011
The proportion of Americans reporting problems affording prescription drugs remained level between 2007 and 2010, with more than one in eight going without a prescribed drug in 2010, according to a national study released today by the Center for Studying Health System Change. Despite the flat numbers, the news isn't necessarily good.
By Rene Letourneau | 04:27 pm | December 14, 2011
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $218 million Wednesday to 26 hospitals and health systems to reduce the millions of preventable injuries and complications caused by healthcare-acquired conditions each year.
By Chris Anderson | 10:52 am | December 14, 2011
Only 27 percent of physicians believe the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will likely reduce healthcare costs by increasing efficiency and half believe access to healthcare will decrease because of hospital closures that will result from the law, according to a new study published yesterday by industry consulting firm Deloitte.
By Rene Letourneau | 09:53 am | December 14, 2011
The number of young people entering the nursing profession is surging, providing relief from the recent nursing shortage, according to an article in the December issue of Health Affairs.
By Bernie Monegain | 10:33 am | December 12, 2011
Canadians with chronic conditions face more barriers to the care they need according to survey results released recently by the Commonwealth Fund.