Quality and Safety
Accountable care has taken a stronghold in today's healthcare environment, and the trend is progressing, according to respondents from Premier's semiannual Outlook survey.
Some of us thrive on change; others resist it, run from it or are paralyzed by it. Change is the one thing constant in our world generally, and of course, in healthcare. How can you inspire your team to create catalysts for change who will separate your organization from the pack?
If hospitals want to survive the new healthcare environment, they can't simply brace themselves for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' new reporting measures -- they must proactively improve their quality scores.
Putting technology in the hands of doctors that can provide real-time data can help cut costs, but such technology can be expensive for health systems. The question then becomes is it worth it economically?
If physicians and health executives could design and build a new hospital with features they've long dreamed of, would the finances fall into place? One booming healthcare market is about to find out.
Health systems are making strides to move care beyond the hospital walls and better connect patients with resources that can keep them healthy. It starts by identifying areas of risk and harm -- both inside and outside of care facilities.
As healthcare continues the transition to value-based reimbursement models, acute and post-acute care collaboration that benefits both organizations -- financially and clinically -- is the future of patient care.
Medicare officials have allowed patients at dozens of hospitals participating in pilot projects across the country to be exempted from the controversial requirement that limits nursing home coverage to seniors admitted to a hospital for at least three days.
Hospitals are increasingly making reducing hospital-acquired infections and readmissions a priority -- and saving millions of dollars in the process -- but there are still gaps to be filled.
Cancer treatment costs are among the highest in the healthcare industry. Insurer UnitedHealthcare created a pilot in an attempt to lower costs that has yielded some promising, though somewhat mixed results.