quality measures
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...
MA officials question high hospital death rates
Despite the state's overall reputation for excellent care--and the presence of high-profile institutions like Beth Israel Deaconess and Massachusetts General--at least one study suggests that... Read more...
Physicians challenge federal physician-ratings bill
It appears that some crafty U.S. Senators have slipped in a provision mandating a controversial claims data-based physician ratings system in a bill otherwise focused on health IT. On the surface,... Read more...
CO publishes hospital quality report card
This week, the state of Colorado published a new website providing quality and clinical outcomes data for its hospitals. The report card, which is being published online, was created as part of a law... Read more...
CO publishes hospital quality report card
This week, the state of Colorado published a new website providing quality and clinical outcomes data for its hospitals. The report card, which is being published online, was created as part of a law... Read more...
AHA says Medicare P4P proposal would hurt hospitals
In an entirely predictable move, the American Hospital Association (AHA) has come forward to say that it isn't pleased with CMS's new proposal to base Medicare hospital payments on quality measures.... Read more...
CMS program would base hospital pay on performance
CMS is proposing a new quality-reporting program which would cut Medicare payments to hospitals, but give money back if the hospitals performed well on the agency's quality measures. The new... Read more...
MN physician group calls for P4P standardization
The Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) has come out with a new report taking an increasingly popular position--that health plans should standardize quality measures before they continue rolling out... Read more...
Physicians see expected 10 percent Medicare cut
Unless something dramatic happens, it appears that physicians will see Medicare reimbursement cuts of almost 10 percent in 2008 under a final rule issued yesterday by CMS. The cut is driven by the... Read more...
MGMA: Medicare quality reporting costly
While getting an extra 1.5 percent bonus from Medicare may be nice, there's some meaningful administrative costs to participating, a new study suggests. The survey released at the Medical Group... Read more...
