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Editor's Picks
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Massachusetts BCBS signs pact with hospital, physician groupsBlue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' partnership with a hospital and two physician groups will offer increased payment incentives for meeting certain quality objectives. I have a story coming in the March issue of HealthLeaders magazine on provider-payer quality collaborations that mentions this initiative, but this story offers a good introductory rundown of BCBS' "Alternative Quality Contract." [ Read More]
Minnesota hospitals strive for safety, but errors still increasingHere's another example of the complexity of improving patient safety. Minnesota hospitals have made significant efforts to improve safety procedures, yet the number of patient deaths and injuries rose in that state last year, according to this story. What's more, the number of reported adverse events jumped from 125 to 312 in a year's time. The caveat, of course, is that it's entirely possible that the reason more adverse events are being reported is because they're being reported, if you know what I mean. The growing emphasis on "changing the culture" to acknowledge mistakes means more mistakes are documented. Makes measuring the effectiveness of patient safety initiatives pretty tough, to say the least. [ Read More]
A front-row seat as a healthcare system goes awryThis is an engrossing conversation with Robert L. Martensen, MD, a former ER and ICU physician who moved to Maryland to head the National Institutes of Health Office of History after Hurricane Katrina destroyed both his home and his professorship at Tulane University in New Orleans. Martensen has written a book offering his critique of the healthcare system; this Q&A isn't exclusively about quality, per se, but it certainly touches on healthcare quality issues. [ Read More]
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This Week's Headlines
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Webcasts/Audio Conferences
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From HealthLeaders Magazine |
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Flat-World Healthcare
| Globalization is no longer an uncertain trend in the distant future. [Read More] |
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Service Line Management |
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A Spinal Shift
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As minimally invasive procedures consume a larger portion of spinal care, provider organizations have many opportunities—and challenges—in an increasingly outpatient service line. [Read More] |
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Leaders Forum
A Necessity, Not an Option: Rethinking ED Systems
Emergency departments nationwide deserve gold stars for their creativity in mitigating the effects of overcrowding by making processes more efficient through quick registration, provider in triage, bedside registration, standing orders, and the use of fast track and sub-waiting areas, to name a few. [Read More]
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Audio Feature
Linda McClung, senior vice president for communications, public affairs, philanthropy, and system services for Irving, TX-based Christus Health, talks during HealthLeaders Media's 2008 Top Leadership Teams Annual Conference and Awards about the importance of recognizing that transparency is about more than the data. [Listen Now]
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