Quality and Safety

During a recent exchange with sixteen national firms that offered a multi-stakeholder perspective, an interesting question surfaced: what is the “healthcare financial network”? Besides being characterized as critical infrastructure by Homeland Security, deemed the target of government reform in the Affordable Care Act and impacted by 5010 compliancy and ICD-10 transformation, well, what is it?

With all that’s going on in the arena of healthcare reform, one wonders whether hospitals have the time to properly manage their doctors.

For healthcare organizations that don’t have a firm grasp on social networking, that unflattering Twitter comment or Facebook photo is just the tip of the iceberg.

Patients treated at five-star-rated hospitals had a 72 percent lower risk of dying compared to those at one-star-rated hospitals, according to a study by the healthcare ratings organization HealthGrades.

Zynx Health is lending its clinical decision support tools to the push for accountable care organizations in a pilot project with five healthcare organizations from across the nation.

David G. Daniel, Chief executive officer, Lakeland Surgical & Diagnostic Center, Lakeland Fla.

The Integrated Healthcare Association, which promotes quality improvement, accountability and affordability of healthcare in California, has named its top 45 performing physician organizations for 2009, based on the IHA’s statewide Pay for Performance program measures.

Preventive health programs work in lowering healthcare costs, according to a new study.

A population management program that matches heart disease patients to personal nurses and clinical pharmacy specialists saves lives, reduces hospital visits and drives down costs, according to a new study from Kaiser Permanente Colorado.

Two Miami healthcare companies and four owners and senior managers of the companies have been indicted on charges of participating in a $200 million Medicare fraud scheme involving mental health services.