BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is again trying to ease doctors' concerns about a tool to allow its members to compare quality and costs of care. Doctors will have 45 days to review their profiles and update information on their medical claims, which underpins the rating system. Blue Cross plans to consider doctors' feedback before the online tool goes live Sept. 15. A rollout was planned for April but was delayed after doctors raised concerns about the accuracy of their individual information and about the use of claims data.
Los Angeles County officials have suspended 16 employees at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital's outpatient clinic after it was discovered that they had serious crimes in their past or had lied about their criminal history. Most of the hospital closed nearly a year ago after federal regulators determined that it did not meet minimum standards for patient care, but some outpatient services continue. County supervisors had blamed their own employees for many of the failures that led to the shutdown of emergency room and inpatient services.
Nashville-based Vanderbilt University has launched a new, one-year master’s degree program in healthcare management to teach doctors, nurses and hospital administrators how to apply business skills to solving healthcare problems. “Clinicians frequently find themselves with management responsibilities, however, their clinical training provided them no experience or education in how to make business decisions soundly,” Larry Van Horn, Vanderbilt's associate professor of management and faculty director of healthcare programs, told The Tennessean.
Healthcare costs could be cut substantially if Americans stopped smoking, stopped overeating and got in shape, a national expert told lawmakers from 11 Midwestern states during the annual Midwestern Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments. The CDC estimates that if Americans adopted such a healthy lifestyle, 80% of heart disease and stroke could be prevented, said Kenneth E. Thorpe, chairman of the Department of Health Policy and Management at Emory University. Diabetes and cancer also would be reduced dramatically, he added.
More than one-third of elderly patients on Medicare take a companion with them for routine medical visits, and patients who are accompanied on such visits tend to be more satisfied, according to a study. More than 60% of companions helped with doctor-patient communications by writing down instructions, giving information on the patients' medical conditions or needs, asking questions or explaining doctors' instructions. Patients who were accompanied on visits were 15% more satisfied with their doctor's technical skills, 19% more satisfied with the doctors' information-giving, and 18% more satisfied with their personal skills compared with unaccompanied patients, the study found.
Georgia showed the largest improvement in the United States in a national study evaluating state policies to improve pain management and patient care, the American Cancer Society reported. Researchers with the University of Wisconsin's Pain & Policy Studies Group analyzed whether state pain policies and regulations enhanced or impeded pain management. The study said only five states received a grade of "A" for enabling healthcare professionals to effectively alleviate the suffering of their patients, without encountering barriers in legislation or regulation. Georgia's grade jumped from a D+ to a B.