Quality and Safety
During the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) annual conference in Bethesda, Md. in September, the agency announced its preliminary findings of its nationwide patient safety project to reduce the rate of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs).
The global market for the genetic testing that precedes in vitro fertilization is estimated to be worth $31.9 million in 2011 and is expected to reach $47.4 million in 2018, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 6.2 percent from 2013 to 2018, said a recent report from Transparency Market Research.
The National Quality Forum (NQF) announced Monday it has endorsed 10 behavioral health quality measures aimed at addressing such issues as alcohol and tobacco abuse, antipsychotic medication adherence and follow-up after hospitalization for mental illness.
A new global study by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics identifies six levers that can be used to increase medication adherence, possibly saving some $500 billion in healthcare spending worldwide.
As the federal government evaluates state demonstrations for providing Medicare-Medicaid eligible Americans with better, more cost-effective care, a new study suggests that large savings will be elusive without specialized models and some improvisation.
Eliminating surgical complications is something all hospitals strive towards, however, for some hospitals, savings gained by reducing or eliminating surgical complications can lead to reduced revenues.
With concern over primary care shortages not likely to abate any time soon, the debate over using nurse practitioners to fill in the gaps continues. A new policy brief released by Health Affairs last month outlines the issues.
Brian Klepper comments on the American Academy of Family Physicians’ recent moves to knock down the idea that nurse practitioners are equivalent to physicians for primary care.
To get better care for patients and lower costs, it's important to stitch together the experience of patients both while they're in the hospital and immediately afterwards.
New York City hospitals scrambled to ensure patient safety in the overwhelming aftermath of post-tropical storm Sandy, which caused unprecedented flooding and widespread power outages.