adoption

VA issues 'report card' touting hospital quality

Anne Zieger — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:31:23 -0400

Lately, the VA has taken a pounding over its handling of mentally-ill soldiers, not to mention the conditions under which physically-injured veterans have been treated at its facilities. Now, the agency has made public an internal "hospital report card" citing data suggesting that its facilities may actually offer higher-quality care than the private sector in some cases. The report, which was requested by Congress, concluded that in both inpatient and outpatient care, the VA achieves higher scores than private hospitals for patient satisfaction, staffing levels, surgical volume and other significant quality measures. That being said, the VA is behind the private sector when it comes to screening women for breast and cervical cancer. Also, women and minorities were less satisfied with inpatient and outpatient care than white vets, and rural facilities scored lower than urban facilities.

To learn more about the report:
- read this Modern Healthcare article (reg. req.)

Related Articles:
Alabama VA drives IT healthcare adoption statewide
VA understates care wait times
Bush commission to examine veterans' healthcare
Leadership changes at Walter Reed

Trend: Medical schools discourage use of demeaning slang

Wed, 07 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

Getting through medical school is a tough indoctrination into a close-knit fraternity, so it's no surprise that people develop their own culture. One aspect of that culture is the adoption of workplace slang. Unfortunately, medical educators say, these are often terms that would offend patients if they knew what the terms meant. Calling a patient a "rock" (who is neither getting better nor worse, but staying 'stuck' in the bed) or referring to patients as "that gallbladder in room 208" is bad enough; suggesting that a dying patient is "circling the drain" may be worse. These terms may serve to vent frustration or simplify the care process, but it also takes the focus off the humanity of patients, says Gregory Makoul, director of Northwestern University School of Medicine's center for communication and medicine. To address these concerns, schools are increasingly discouraging students from adopting jargon that might demean patients, or ideally, any jargon at all.

To learn more about this trend:
- read this Chicago Tribune piece

Related Article:
Study: Med school pharma limits affect attitudes

CMS tightening quality-reporting measures

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:59:57 -0500

After running its Physician Quality Reporting Initiative for a year, Medicare has begun to analyze the data, and is preparing to tweak and improve the program for this year. Physicians who volunteered to participate during 2007 will receive a 1.5 percent bonus on allowed charges for that year for reporting on 74 quality measures. The bonus only depends on their having reported the data, not patient incomes.

Medicare is stepping things up a bit, requiring PQRI participants to report on 119 measures this year. The measures will include stats on the practices' adoption of health IT. The 1.5 percent bonus won't change, though it will be awarded based on the higher 2008 physician fee schedule.

To learn more about CMS's plans on this front:
- read this Modern Healthcare article (reg. req.)

Related Articles:
MD groups struggle with Medicare incentive goals. Article
WellPoint rolling out physician reviews system. Article
MGMA: Medicare quality reporting costly. Article

ALSO NOTED: Tenet signs BC of Calif. contract; Analyst predict WellCare sale; and much more...

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> Tenet has struck a multi-year contract with Blue Cross of California covering 16 California hospitals. Article

> Analysts are predicting that a sale (possibly to Wellpoint) might be imminent for government health care program manager WellCare. Article

> Can open-source electronic medical records boost adoption within medical practices? The answer seems to be a resounding "maybe." FierceHealthIT

> AstraZeneca and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have come together to study pain caused by cancer chemotherapy. FierceBiotech

And Finally... It's the saga of the disappearing house. Article

Hot topics at the MGMA

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 06:59:59 -0400

This coming Monday and Tuesday (10/29 and 10/30), I'm heading to Philly to attend the Medical Group Management Association's annual conference. As usual, I'm expecting it to be an intriguing show.

Things are always colorful on the front lines of medical practice--after all, while industry changes can filter down for a while, they've really hit home when physicians get involved--but often medical practice debates boil down to hand-wringing over long-term managed care conflicts or pending state and federal regs. This time, however, I think there's some industry shifts afoot which could be more empowering than overwhelming, including:

* Pay-for-performance incentives
* Physician ratings by consumers, health plans and other outside organizations
* Electronic medical records adoption
* The growth of retail clinics

As FierceHealthcare readers know, these are the topics that (understandably) get physicians hot under the collar, as each stand the chance of changing the way their already-threatened business works. Still, each could also be seen as trends which can be ridden by physicians to grow their revenues.

If physicians there are kind enough to chat with me, I'm eager to pick up some inside stories of how they're coping with these challenges to their business. I'll let you know what I find out. And if you see me there, please feel free to say hello! - Anne

ALSO NOTED: Good pay for Kansas MDs; Rules for physician IT gifts create confusion; and much more...

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:59:50 -0400

> Kansas doctors are well-paid when compared to all other workers in the state, study finds. Article

> New, allegedly improved HHS rules covering IT subsidies for doctors seem to be creating a lot of confusion. FierceHealthIT

> A former patient of the University of New Mexico Hospitals has donated $2.5 million to the organization. Report

> A new study suggests that when looking at physician adoption of electronic medical records, it's important to look at what types of systems they buy and how those systems differ. FierceHealthIT

And Finally... If you demand truthiness from a president, he's your man! Article

ALSO NOTED: States push for hospital pricing disclosures; Actor supports hospital union; and much more...

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:59:50 -0400

> States continue to push for disclosure of hospital pricing data. Article

> Actor Ben Affleck has come out in support of a union working to organize staff at Boston's teaching hospitals. Article

> CMS has moved up the deadline for implementing the National Provider Identifier to late May of next year. FierceHealthIT

> Congress is considering a new bill intended to speed up the adoption of health IT. FierceHealthIT

And Finally... Sure, TV can be aggravating, but I wouldn't go this far. Article

Study: Abbreviations cause 5 percent of drug errors

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 06:59:55 -0400

Here's another argument for the adoption of eprescribing. Prescription abbreviations generated about 5 percent of all medication errors between 2004 and 2006, according to a Joint Commission study. Researchers with the Joint Commission studied 643,151 total medication errors reported through medication error-reporting program Medmarx. Of those, the Commission said 4.7 percent (or 29,974 errors) happened because of abbreviation use.

The abbreviation most frequently associated with errors was QD, substituted for "once daily." This abbreviation is on a Joint Commission list of "do not use" abbreviations.

To learn more about the study:
- read this Modern Healthcare article

Related Articles:
Nursing home drug errors remain hidden. Report
Drug errors harm 1.5 million per year: IOM. Report
Press release: Most Americans would prefer to get meds from MDs. Release
IBM offers RFID in fight against counterfeit drugs. Report

SPOTLIGHT: How to succeed with EHRs

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:01:32 -0400

Not sure your physicians will buy in to your EHR rollout? It's a reasonable fear. After all, they may not feel ready for the changes EHRs will require them to make. But a physician leader who's been there--and achieved 100 percent adoption of a CPOE system--suggests that if executives take the right steps, they can virtually guarantee that their EHR implementation will succeed. Column

Survey: Health IT on the rise in hospitals

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:01:38 -0500

A new survey of 1,500 community hospitals conducted by the American Hospital Association has found that, despite barriers such as cost and integration, implementation of health IT is on the rise in hospitals. Nearly half of all surveyed hospitals reported moderate or high use of health IT in 2006, compared to a response of 37 percent in 2005. Large, urban and teaching hospitals are at the forefront of this movement. In addition:

69 percent of responding hospitals have either fully or partially implemented EHRs.
Computerized physician order-entry (CPOE) is gaining ground, particularly in hospitals with EHRs.
Spending on health IT systems is high and growing.

The survey found that barriers still remain for its adoption, particularly the high costs involved in installing and maintaining IT systems. Other complications include the lack of trained staff to implement technology and problems with interoperability among systems.

For more on the survey:
- check out this AHA press release