Quality and Safety
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued a proposed rule that would update Medicare payment policies and rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities in fiscal year 2012. The rule would increase payment rates under the IRF Prospective Payment System by a projected 1.5 percent — an estimated $120 million nationwide.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced on Tuesday four arrests were made in a south suburban Chicago nursing home after a surprise "Operation Guardian" compliance check.
People with low incomes or chronic health problems who enroll in high-deductible health plans are at no more risk for cutting back on needed healthcare than other people who enroll in the plans, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Whenever I'm in Canada I enjoy reading what the newspapers have to say about health care. Today's Montreal Gazette leads with "Hip surgery wait times fail seniors" and continues inside with "Waits longest in cities for seniors' hip surgery."
The average per capita cost of healthcare services covered by commercial insurance and Medicare programs increased by 6.19 percent over the 12 months ending February 2011, according to the Standard & Poor's Healthcare Economic Composite Index. This is a drop from the 6.31 percent increase in annual growth rate posted in January 2011 for this index.
The results of a recent study indicate that a one-hour reduction in the average emergency department boarding time could result in millions of additional dollars per year in revenue for hospitals.
The globalization of healthcare has provided opportunities for many organizations to rapidly develop their products and to expand their network of customers. But with this globalization, we also need to realize there are also a number of important economic and public health concerns.
The Customer Operations Performance Center, a Florida-based customer service and benchmarking company, has released findings from its first Healthcare Industry Benchmark Study.
While patient experience is a top priority for hospital executives it is still largely undefined finds a new study by the Beryl Institute, an organization advocating for better patient experiences within the healthcare system.
Health insurance provider Highmark plans to launch a two-year, patient-centered medical home pilot project.