Janice Simmons, Senior Editor

A high-quality multihospital system can be defined specifically by: (a) high patient satisfaction; (b) good use of performance measurements; (c) low readmission rates; (d) up-to-date health information technology; (e) availability of top-notch providers; (f) its large or small size in the healthcare marketplace; (g) all of the above; or (h) none of the above. So what's the right answer? Give up? How about "i" for: "It just depends." [Read More]

April 1, 2010

Editor's Picks

Patient Safety Incidents Showed Little Change in 2009, Says HealthGrades
While the number of patient safety incidents that occurred among hospitalized Medicare patients dipped slightly below the one million mark in 2009, the number of injured did not vary greatly from the rates in previous years, according to the new annual study from HealthGrades. Overall, the incidents created additional health costs of $8.9 billion annually. [Read More]

Breast Cancer Screening Issue Remains Unresolved
The co-chair of the ACR Breast Imaging Commission calls the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force mammography guidelines "atrocious," and a two-decade step backward for women's healthcare. Carl D'Orsi, MD, co-chair of the ACR Breast Imaging Commission, says, "What those guidelines have done is picked women's healthcare up and put it back 20 to 25 years when the mortality from breast cancer was 30% higher." [Read More]

27 Senators Tell CMS to Relax, Postpone Meaningful Use Rules
Very few hospitals are able to satisfy the 23 electronic health record objectives or requirements necessary for federal incentives payments, says a bipartisan coalition of 27 U.S. senators. The coalition wants CMS to allow a slower, more gradual implementation process and relax or change many other EHR mandates. [Read More]

Program Encourages Reporting Near Miss Medical Errors
Staff members are often trained to report a potential medical error, or near miss event. However, more often than not, these events go unreported. In 2003, the University of Texas System, which is made up of six health institutions, developed a system that allowed the anonymous reporting of close calls, near misses, and potential errors. [Read More]

Report Promotes Integration of Medical Home, Value-Based Insurance
Two health plan initiatives—the patient-centered medical home and value-based insurance design—can lead to lower health costs and improved employee health, say experts who contend that "obvious synergies" between the two programs often go unnoticed because they are carried out separately. [Read More]

This Week's Headlines

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Nurses strike has Temple training 850 new hires
Philadelphia Inquirer – April 1, 2010

$500K grant to help fully reopen troubled Los Angeles hospital
AP/San Francisco Chronicle – March 30, 2010

Scientists say FDA ignored radiation warnings
New York Times – March 29, 2010

Study: Higher-Volume Hospitals Have Lower Mortality Rates in Three Conditions
John Commins, for HealthLeaders Media – March 26, 2010

Webcasts/Audio Conferences

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Neuroscience Service Lines Strategies (April 22)

Integrated Compensation Plans to Enhance Physician Performance (May 13)

Five Proven Steps to Improve Patient Satisfaction Scores (May 19)

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