HealthLeadersMedia.com - Quality Pillar News & Analysis

Lower ED Margins Demand a Better Strategy

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:35:00 GMT

In this new Intelligence Report, we examine how resolving organizational problems in the emergency department will remain a challenge as demand for ED services increases, overcrowding elevates patient safety concerns, and quality metrics draw greater attention.

Healthcare Costs Hit Record High, But Growth Rate Slows

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:28:00 GMT

The 2013 Milliman Medical Index pegs the annual cost of PPO coverage at 6.3% higher than last year. Physician and other professional services account for one third of annual healthcare spending.

Immigrant healthcare bills stump House group

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:09:00 GMT

WASHINGTON -- Differences over whether immigrants should be deported for failing to have health insurance or pay their healthcare bills have stalled a bipartisan group of House lawmakers, who blew past a self-imposed Thursday deadline as they pressed forward on a sweeping immigration overhaul. Negotiators emerged upbeat from a closed-door meeting in the Capitol and said they remained on track to produce a bill by June. That, in itself, was significant, after the group of eight was on the verge of breakup. "We were all positive that we can move forward," said Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho, a top Republican leading the bipartisan effort.

Incentives push doctors to electronic medical records

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:57:00 GMT

WASHINGTON -- More than half of doctors' offices and 80% of hospitals that provide Medicare or Medicaid will have electronic health records by the end of the year, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday. "We have reached a tipping point in adoption of electronic health records," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and they "are critical to modernizing our health care system." The announcement comes as a key part of the 2010 health care law: Doctors with have can better track errors and prevent future problems.

Hundreds of nurses walk out at two San Jose hospitals

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:55:00 GMT

SAN JOSE (KCBS) – A large group of registered nurses walked off the job Thursday morning at two hospitals in San Jose. Instead of changing IVs and administering medication, nurses at Good Samaritan Hospital and Regional Medical Center were walking the picket line in a dispute over wages, benefits, pension and staffing levels. The union represents 1,400 members of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United. "What we're asking for is that the hospital has sufficient staff to staff for all patients that are coming into the hospital and also to staff for all patients that are going to be discharged, but haven't left yet," said Malinda Markowitz with the California Nurses Association.

Intermountain Healthcare alerts patients to cumulative radiation exposure

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:51:00 GMT

Roughly 25 patients a day are wheeled into Intermountain Medical Center's "cath lab" for CT scans to look for calcium buildup in their coronary arteries. Coronary artery scans — the newest addition to radiologists' growing arsenal of diagnostic tools — can aid doctors in diagnosing heart problems early. But they expose patients to 50 to 150 times the radiation of a chest X-ray, raising their risk for developing cancer later in life. "We want to make sure patients are getting tests only for the right reasons," said cardiologist Donald Lappé at a news conference Wednesday touting a 9-month-old initiative aimed at ensuring just that.

3-D printer makes life-saving splint for baby's airway

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:45:00 GMT

A 3-D printer is being credited with helping to save an Ohio baby's life, after doctors "printed" a tube to support a weak airway that caused him to stop breathing. The innovative procedure has allowed Kaiba Gionfriddo, of Youngstown, Ohio, to stay off a ventilator for more than a year. The splint that changed Kaiba's life was implanted in February of 2012, when he was 3 months old. Resembling a vacuum cleaner's hose, with ridges to resist collapse, the splint is made out of bioresorbable plastics that will dissolve within three years, according to the University of Michigan doctors who developed the unique treatment. They wrote about the implant in today's issue of the .

Hospitals Profit On Bloodstream Infections

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:55:00 GMT

Hospitals can reap a windfall when an insured patient has a preventable infection, and private health plans—not Medicare—foot the largest bills. Why aren't these payers doing more to help hospitals prevent infections?

Less Blood Testing for Some Surgeries Safe, Cost Effective

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:29:00 GMT

The ordering and testing of blood for surgery that rarely requires blood transfusions is expensive and "overutilized" by hospitals, researchers say. At Johns Hopkins alone, more appropriate blood ordering practices could save $200,000 a year.

UC hospitals cancel surgeries, divert patients amid strike

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:23:00 GMT

A strike by University of California patient care workers Tuesday caused the cancellation of hundreds of surgeries, the closure of laboratory stations and the diversion of emergency room patients, officials said. The hospitals prepared for the two-day strike by postponing elective surgeries and hiring temporary workers, but services still were affected after thousands of employees took to the picket line at the medical centers in Los Angeles, Irvine, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento, where the UC Davis facility is located.

Scramble at Moore Medical Center as tornado hit

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:21:00 GMT

A massive tornado swept through the Oklahoma City area Monday afternoon, leaving ruin in its path. Moore Medical Center, which stood directly in the tornado's path, was . But the workers, patients and their families in the hospital escaped. Nick Stremble, a registered nurse and manager at the hospital, told Shots Tuesday what he saw. "My ER is destroyed," he said. "My department was at the Moore Medical Center. I mean it's wiped out. The building is roped off so we're not doing anything there." About 250 or 300 people were inside as the storm approached. The staff was able to direct everyone to designated zones located in the center of the hospital.

Opinion: Health IT—Make sure policy umbrella is big enough for all

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:13:00 GMT

The growing trend toward incorporating health information technology (HIT) and patient-defined and patient-generated data into the healthcare delivery system is clear. From funding included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to provisions included in the 2010 Affordable Care Act, to the call for inclusion of patient-generated data in Stage 3 meaningful use, HIT implementation is an essential component of federal plans to improve healthcare quality and lower costs. The trend may be clear, but we still need a better comprehension of how broad the range of patient-generated data really is.

KY short 3,800 doctors even before Medicaid expansion

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:10:00 GMT

FRANKFORT, KY. — Kentucky needs 3,790 more doctors, including 183 additional primary care physicians, to meet current demand for care — and those numbers will grow when more Kentuckians get coverage through a Medicaid expansion and health benefit exchange under health reform. Those are some of the findings in a workforce capacity study report by Deloitte Consulting that was the subject of a briefing Wednesday held by the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The report is scheduled to be made available on the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange website next week.

All ME hospitals sign on to electronic health records exchange

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:06:00 GMT

All of Maine's acute-care hospitals have agreed to participate in statewide network that allows health care providers to share and view patients' health records electronically. HealthInfoNet, a Portland nonprofit that operates the health records exchange, announced Tuesday that 34 of the state's hospitals already are connected to the system and four more are under contract to connect by the end of the year. The exchange was launched in July 2009. Maine is one of just a few states to have all of its hospitals connected to a health records exchange that allows providers to securely find and request information about patients from other providers, according to HealthInfoNet.

Opinion: Colonoscopy mill operator doesn't concern insurance company

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:02:00 GMT

To hear Health Plan of Nevada's advocates tell it, Dr. Dipak Desai was a master of deception. He was a real sleight-of-hand artist, a veritable David Copperfield of the colonoscopy. The fact Desai and a nurse anesthetist are on trial facing a list of criminal charges including second-degree murder illustrates the fact he's the one at fault. HPN, on the other hand, is a dedicated and charitable servant of nearly 500,000 Nevadans' health care needs. Its reputation has been besmirched by last month's staggering $500 million punitive damage award for its role in the hepatitis C outbreak at Desai's now-closed Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada.

Tornado struck hospital but patients, staff unharmed

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:12:00 GMT

Hospital emergency department manager Nick Stremble didn't need the television to tell him the tornado would hit Moore Medical Center. All he had to do was look outside the window. "There's a big window area that faces southwest," Stremble said, recalling his final check before heading to the safe area on the first floor of the hospital in Moore, Okla., about 10 miles from Oklahoma City. "I could see the tornado in the neighborhood across the street from us. I could see the debris. It was more than obvious it was going to be there in under a minute."

Hospital 'code black' before flood of tornado patients

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:08:00 GMT

The injured children came into the Children's Hospital at the Oklahoma University Medical Center in Oklahoma City fast. So fast that the hospital set up a triage center in its own facility. "Every once in a while, a trauma trickles into the emergency room at OU Children's," said Bob Letton, pediatric trauma medical director at the hospital. But not Monday. In the wake of a powerful tornado that ripped through the area, he said, "a facility used to seeing one or two traumas a day all of a sudden had over 50."

House immigration talks hang on healthcare

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:56:00 GMT

House immigration negotiators have given themselves until the end of the week to hash out language on what kind of health benefits should be available to undocumented immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship, a crucial issue for the talks. If they can't resolve this issue, the four-year immigration negotiations could come to a crashing halt. Top Democrats said late Tuesday they do not think Republicans will walk away from the talks. It was only less than a week ago that the bipartisan House group announced it had reached a tentative agreement on a proposal "in principle" to be introduced in June.

WI hospitals reduce central-line infections

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:53:00 GMT

Painstaking work by Wisconsin hospitals in recent years has sharply lowered the occurrence of one of the most deadly types of infections: those from central lines used to deliver fluids, medication and blood to patients. Infections in intensive care units from central lines — tubes placed in a large vein in a patient's neck, chest or arm — were 56% lower last year than a national baseline established in 2008, according to a report by the Wisconsin Division of Public Health. That progress — which included a 21% reduction from 2011 — has stemmed from a series of initiatives since 2009 by the Wisconsin Hospital Association, as well as from projects by individual hospitals.

Public in Deep South supports expanding Medicaid, but lawmakers don't

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:45:00 GMT

Even though governors and lawmakers in five Deep South states oppose a plan to cover more people through Medicaid under the health care overhaul, 62 percent of the people in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina support expanding the program, according to a new poll. The level of support for expanding Medicaid – the state and federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled – ranged from a low of 59 percent in Mississippi to a high of 65 percent in South Carolina, according to the poll by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a leading research and public policy think tank that focuses on African-Americans and other people of color.