surgeries

The growing national trend of transparency has pushed Massachusetts lawmakers to consider reporting individual doctors' mortality rates for cardiac surgery. Currently, the mortality rates at hospitals are available but health officials have been reluctant to provide data on each physician. Cardiologists are concerned that the data will reflect what type of patient a doctor chooses to treat rather than how well the doctor performed. High-risk patients make for high-risk surgeries, and …

The New York Health Accountability Foundation released a report card rating hospitals in the state. The report, which was produced by IPRO and funded by a grant from the New York Business Group for Health, shows that the cost of a surgery can vary by as much as 100 percent between competing hospitals. Critics have warned for years that hospital charge data can be misleading as prices often do not reflect the final costs of procedures. Some observers believe the trend toward releasing cost …

CMS Administrator Mark McClellan said this week he wants a change in Medicare's reimbursement policy in situations where "never events" are involved. Under the proposed rules changes, Medicare would no longer pay for treatment in cases where such mistakes are made. "Never events" is the industry term for the most serious medical mistakes, the errors that quite frankly should never happen in a thousand years. The list typically includes wrong site surgeries, wrong patient surgeries, …

The Mayo Clinic warned that changes in healthcare usage patterns are hurting its business, suggesting that other providers in the industry may face financial turbulence over the next few years. Operating income and the number of surgeries performed at the storied facility both fell significantly in 2005. That's at least partly because the provider is getting less from Medicare these days and insurers are steering patients to local competitors willing to cut deals on prices. Mayo Clinic …

A "small but growing" number of hospitals are embracing "bloodless" surgery, a technique originally developed to help patients with religious objections to transfusions. Supporters argue that bloodless surgery is actually safer than traditional surgery and note that recovery times are generally shorter. Of course, "bloodless" doesn't actually mean bloodless--it actually means "transfusion-less." Pennsylvania Hospital is home to one program that specializes in bloodless surgeries. Doctors …

CMS said Medicare will pay for three common types of bariatric surgery, a procedure which involves surgically reducing the size of the stomach. The procedures covered will include the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, gastric banding and biliopancreatic diversion with a duodenal switch. Critics question the necessity of the surgeries and point out the considerable risks involved with the operations, which can include clotting, leakage and infections. Some analysts predict that the government, …

Recently, many hospitals have started experimenting with webcasts as a means of marketing new procedures and attracting out-of-town business. Now, it appears some insurers are using the technology for an entirely different purpose: to discourage people from having surgeries--or at least make them think twice about having a procedure done. Insurers note that while online tools like webcasts and simulations are useful educational and marketing weapons, they turn out to have an …

The increasing popularity of ambulatory surgery centers is examined in today's New York Times. There are now about 4,600 surgery centers around the country, according to industry sources, a marked increase from 3,000 only five years ago. The trend is clearly "away from the hospital," as one expert puts it. One-in-five surgeries is now performed at such facilities. The question is: is that an entirely good thing? Some critics are doubtful, arguing that safety can be a problem at …