HealthLeadersMedia.com - Nursing News and Analysis

CMS Seeks to 'Rapidly Reduce' Medicare Spending with $1B in Grants

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:16:00 GMT

The second round of federal Health Care Innovation Awards specifically seeks clinical models that will quickly shrink Medicare costs and improve care for populations with special needs as well as population health.

Case Study: Advance Care Conversations

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:57:00 GMT

Not knowing a patient's wishes for end-of-life care can lead to expensive and sometimes unwanted medical interventions. Gundersen Health System is trying to change that, by embracing a conversation around end-of-life care that is not about dying.

Seeking calm on the cancer ward

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:42:00 GMT

When people choose to have their leukemia treated aggressively, it's a big commitment, more so than for almost any other cancer. With this therapy — three days of the drug daunorubicin, which comes in a reddish color so distinctive that one of my patients, a former chemist, used it in his professional life as a dye for plastics, and seven days of the drug cytarabine, which is infused continuously over 168 hours — we offer them the chance to be cured of a disease moving like wildfire with a stiff breeze behind it at the height of drought.

Quiet ORs Better for Patient Safety

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:26:00 GMT

Music at loud decibels can contribute to miscommunication among surgeons and nurses in the operating room, raising the risk of medical error, researchers say.

Tavenner Confirmed as CMS Administrator

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:06:00 GMT

Marilyn Tavenner, a former nurse, hospital executive, and state health official, is the first Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services head to gain congressional approval since 2004. The full Senate confirmed her nomination with a 91-7 vote Wednesday.

Docs, nurses disagree over expanded nurse roles

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:05:00 GMT

As nurse practitioners lobby to expand their authority and scope of practice in many states, a New England Journal of Medicine study released Wednesday documents a deep chasm between doctors and nurses on that issue. The study found the two groups overwhelmingly agreed that nurse practitioners should be able to practice to the full extent of their schooling and training. But doctors were less likely to concur that advanced practice nurses should lead medical homes, which deliver team-based, coordinated care to patients. Only 17 percent of the 505 primary care physicians surveyed agreed with that notion, compared to 82 percent of the 467 nurse practitioners surveyed.

Healthcare Leaders Sound Off on Organized Labor

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:21:00 GMT

How much of a threat does organized labor pose to healthcare organizations? Hospital and health system leaders weigh in on the sensitive issue, which ranked among their top three concerns in our most recent industry survey.

$223M Medicare fraud bust nabs 89 in 8 cities

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:16:00 GMT

WASHINGTON — Nearly 100 people, including 14 doctors and nurses, were charged for their roles in separate Medicare scams that collectively billed the taxpayer-funded program for roughly $223 million in bogus charges in a massive bust spanning eight cities, federal authorities said Tuesday. It was the latest in a string of similar announcements by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder as federal authorities crack down on fraud that's believed to cost the program between $60 billion and $90 billion each year. Stopping Medicare's budget from hemorrhaging that money will be key to paying for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

Liberty Hospital lays off workers, shuts down wound clinic

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:45:00 GMT

Liberty Hospital has eliminated 129 employees, eliminated its wound clinic and shut down its hospital-funded patient transportation program, the hospital announced Tuesday. "It is our primary concern to provide the highest quality care to our patients, and not to interrupt the quality of care through these changes," David Feess, President and CEO of Liberty Hospital, said in a statement. "The measures we implement will focus on patient care, while allowing Liberty Hospital to remain fiscally responsible." The cuts come as the hospital is looking for ways to increase efficiencies in the face of declining Medicare payments and an unlikely Medicaid expansion, the statement said.

Online Nursing Master's Program Stresses Leadership

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:59:00 GMT

An online university program for aspiring family nurse practitioners promises "an exact replica" of the rigorous clinical and leadership training offered on campus.

Access to EHR Notes Lauded by Patients, Providers

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:24:00 GMT

In a pilot, a system which permits patients to view all the notes in their electronic health records was such a hit with hospital patients and physicians that Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Geisinger Health System are dramatically expanding their OpenNotes programs.

CMS Proposes Reduced Hospital DSH Cuts

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:10:00 GMT

Some acute care hospitals would see a $1.1 billion reduction in cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) funds for two years under a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposal.

Senators Want Provider Feedback on Medicare Payments

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:47:00 GMT

Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee are asking doctors to answer questions about the physician fee schedule and changes that would be necessary to accommodate alternative payment models.

Opinion: Want to improve healthcare? Spend less on it

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:06:00 GMT

According to a new study of Medicaid recipients in Oregon, increased health-care spending has only a limited impact on improving people's health. This points to an underlying reality: Hospitals and doctors' surgeries may account for a considerable majority of health-care expenditures, but they aren't the main factors in health outcomes. That's true not only in the U.S. but around the world. The Oregon study suggested that expanding Medicaid had considerable benefits: Recipients got more health care and didn't suffer the impact of catastrophic health costs.

Building a Better Healthcare Board

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:40:00 GMT

Whether boards are too large, too unwieldy, or have members who are underqualified to effectively provide strategic direction, many of them need help to deal with the new realities of healthcare.

Opinion: Healthcare plan needed for end of life

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:03:00 GMT

Never in human existence has dying been more complicated. Before the onset of modern medicine, most people died quickly from an acute event such as trauma or the effects of infection. Today most deaths are a slow process of decline stemming from chronic medical conditions – heart failure, diabetes and dementia, among many. In Massachusetts, roughly 80 percent of seniors die in the hospital, and only about half participate in any type of end-of-life care planning. Despite the often long, drawn-out process of dying today, many patients, families and medical providers never discuss it. As a result, dying in America has become a disjointed, problematic and costly process that often causes unwelcome suffering.

Surgeon-Driven Quality Effort Slashes Complications, Costs

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:30:00 GMT

The National Surgical Quality Improvement Project, a growing effort run by the American College of Surgeons since 2004, reports that 83% of program participants have been able to decrease their surgical complication rates by a statistically significant level.

Whistleblower Fines Against Tuomey, Adventist Health

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:12:00 GMT

A $39.3 judgment million and the specter of hefty fines hang over Tuomey Healthcare System following a jury's decision that it violated the Stark Law and the False Claims Act. Adventist Health will pay $14.1M to resolve false claims allegations. Both cases were initiated by whistleblowers.

CA weighs expanded role for nurse practitioners

Fri, 10 May 2013 11:02:00 GMT

As state governments get ready for the Affordable Care Act coverage expansion, some are taking a close look at their networks of health care professionals to make sure they will be able to meet increased demands as more people gain health insurance. California is one of 15 states expected to consider legislation this year that would give advanced practice nurses more independence and authority. Tina Clark is a nurse practitioner at Glide Health Services, a clinic in San Francisco's Tenderloin district, a low-income section of the city. Glide is run by nurses with advanced training. A physician visits the clinic 12 hours a week, to sign forms and consult on difficult cases.

CMS Releases Hospital Pricing Data

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:17:00 GMT

For the first time, the federal government has made public chargemaster data for the 100 most common Medicare inpatient diagnostic related groups or DRGs. Hospital prices vary widely even within the same city or region.