quality data
Transparency goes mainstream
While consumers have complained about healthcare pricing for years--and payers have struggled to come up with quality measures they could live with--transparency advocates blew the doors down this... Read more...
Critical-access hospitals not part of CMS quality program
Raising some hackles, CMS has made the decision to exclude critical-access hospitals from its Hospital Outpatient Quality Data Reporting program. The program, which kicks off in April 2008, will... Read more...
NY considers physician-ranking legislation
Over the last few months, several New York health plans have agreed to follow the Attorney... Read more...
SPOTLIGHT: An economist ponders consumer-directed care
Can consumer-directed care really improve efficiency and cut costs? Probably not, if we rely on the data that's currently being generated, suggests economist Paul Ginsberg. While mandates that... Read more...
Another health plan agrees to NY doctor rating reforms
This week, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield became the third New York health plan to adopt a physician ratings model created by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. In agreeing to the model, Empire... Read more...
Aetna strikes doctor-ratings deal with NY
Aetna has struck a deal with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo under which it will adopt a model limiting its approach to rating physicians. The new model, which is backed by the AMA and the... Read more...
ALSO NOTED: Healthcare issues still playing big electoral role; CMS pays incentives for EMR use; and much more...
> Healthcare issues continue to play a major role in the campaigning leading up to U.S. presidential election. Read more...
ALSO NOTED: Allina, partner call off plans for new med school; WellCare stock prices plunge; and much more...
> Allina Hospitals & Clinics and the University of St. Thomas have called off plans to build a new medical school. Read more...
Quality of children's healthcare questioned
A new study by RAND Corp., Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute and the University of Washington School of Medicine has reached the sobering conclusion that children may be getting worse... Read more...
Groups work for single, shared quality standard
A coalition of influential healthcare groups including the National Quality Forum and America's Health Insurance Plans have come together to create a single, consistent national approach to quality... Read more...
