Process Improvement news from FierceHealthcare

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has struck a partnership with 21 Michigan hospitals under which the group will work to better leverage coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). The idea is to see whether CCTA could someday replace the use of standard cardiac catheterization. In the past, the BCBS plan hadn't covered CCTA, but starting this month, hospitals participating in the program will be reimbursed for the test if they're part of the plan's PPO, Point of Service or Blue …

Particularly when it comes to surgeons, who are particularly at risk for nicks and cuts, providers may pose more of a infection-control risk than previously thought. Because viruses like hepatitis B and C and HIV are spread by blood-to-blood contact, healthcare workers are more at risk than the general population, given their more-frequent contact with bodily fluids. And since there are no laws requiring surgeons to be tested for blood-borne viruses--not to mention that infected …

Emergency department visits hit a new high in 2005, with more than 115 million visits, says new research from the CDC. That's a jump of five million visits over the previous year, and a substantial 20 percent increase over 10 years.

Over the same time period, the number of hospital EDs decreased more than 9 percent from 4,176 to 3,795, the CDC says. More than half of these patients (62.8 percent) were referred to a physician or clinic for follow-up after their visit, suggesting …

Most surgeons-in-training end up giving themselves accidental injuries, typically by sticking themselves with needles or sharp instruments, but a new study says few actually report their mishaps despite the threat of AIDS, hepatitis and other blood-borne illnesses.

The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, concludes rushed surgical residents are reluctant to report such injuries because it would take time, could slow career growth and might be …

Wrong-site surgeries happen or almost happen every other day in Pennsylvania healthcare organizations, says a new study. And, researchers suggest, those findings mirror what's taking place in other states.

Officials of the Pennsylvania Safety Authority, which conducted the survey, said in a 30-month time period stretching from June 2004 to December 2006, they received 427 near misses or reports of wrong-site surgeries. Of those, 253 were near misses. Of the remaining surgeries, …

It's grim knowledge, but necessary. A new study suggests as many as 5 percent of all hospital and nursing home patients are infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at any given time. If accurate, this stat would indicate MRSA is eight to 11 times more common than previously determined by other research. The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology sent surveys to more than 11,000 members, asking them to pick a day between Oct. 1 …

Policy experts meeting at a Mayo Clinic-sponsored forum are recommending some significant changes to health plan reimbursement practices which they say could improve care and reduce costs. The experts, who met this week at Dartmouth, are suggesting that plans institute shared decision making programs for major elective surgery, in which medical centers are awarded bonuses for involving patients effectively. Another of their proposals is to develop a model for a single "chronic condition …

Care quality, access, costs and rates of avoidable hospitalizations vary widely from state to state, with a huge gap between the best and worst performers, according to new research from a health advocacy group. The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System, which released its "State Scorecard on Health System Performance" yesterday, found that states which provide good access to care (especially access to health insurance) tend to offer a better quality of care as …

Using mystery shoppers is not a new idea, but it's become even more important in an era when consumers have gotten more choosy about service. In the Boston metro area, several large hospitals are running ongoing mystery shopper programs, focusing on what incoming patients see and how they're treated. At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, for example, the management uses six mystery shoppers to study operations in its 26 waiting rooms and emergency department. The shoppers use a 45-item …

Like peers around the country, hospitals in the sprawling region surrounding New York City are facing a emergency department crowding crisis. A recent survey by the American College of Emergency Physicians found that more than half of physicians responding from New York state, New Jersey and Connecticut reported that ED boarding had increased significantly in recent years. More worrisome, nearly …