hospital association

MN hospitals won't charge for major errors

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Minnesota hospitals have decided to get on the 'no pay' bandwagon. The facilities have announced that they'll stop billing both public and private insurers for 27 preventable adverse events, including pressure ulcers, objects left inside surgery patients and medication errors, all "never events" identified by the National Quality Forum. Along with ambulatory surgery centers, the hospitals must already report never events to the state under an existing law.

The billing policy changes were developed jointly by the Minnesota Hospital Association and some of the state's health insurers, including HealthPartners and the state's Blue Cross Blue Shield plan.

To find out more about the hospitals' plans:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece

Related Articles:
Many MA hospitals waive charges for errors. Report
By 2008, Medicare won't pay for some hospital errors. Report
Other payors may follow CMS's 'no pay' lead. Report
Business say 'no pay' for major mistakes. Report
Study: Wrong-site surgeries, close calls are common. Report

MN hospitals won't charge for major errors

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Trend: Hospitals use picture boards to communicate

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 06:59:54 -0400

Hospitals are beginning to use picture boards with non-English speakers to help them make themselves understood. The boards are no substitute for trained translators, of course, but they can help staff collect basic information from patients until a translator can be found. The panels include not only clinical images--suggesting, say pain or a fall--but also may offer a list of languages that the patient can choose from to indicate which they speak.

Increasingly, health leaders are realizing that such boards are an important tool. In New Jersey, for example, the head of the health department is working with the state's hospital association to distribute thousands of the boards. They're passing along the boards not only to hospitals, but also rescue squads and public health clinics. The boards' use is also backed by HHS, which is rolling out a program designed to help hospitals assess and meet patients' communication needs.

To learn more about this trend:
- read this USA Today article

Related Articles:
Case study: Nurses offer cross-language care. Report
NY to require skilled translators. Report
Hospital attracts business by providing medical translators. Report
Study: Pediatricians use family, not translators. Report

Michigan nonprofit hospitals post prices

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 06:59:54 -0400

Starting in January, Michigan's nonprofit hospitals will become another provider group to join the transparency trend. Right now only one hospital system in the state, Spectrum Health of Grand Rapids, has voluntarily posted its prices for key procedures. Now, however, the state's 146 nonprofits are creating a shared hospital price database on the site of the state's hospital trade group, the Michigan Health & Hospital Association. The prices will cover at least 50 common procedures, tests and operations that cover up to 80 percent of a hospital's business.

To learn more the state's pricing disclosures:
- read this Detroit Free Press article

Related Articles:
Texas site offers hospital price comparisons. Report
Minn. group posts hospital prices to Web. Report
Maryland unveils hospital guide. Report
Interview: Price, quality and the Amish. Report
HCA posts hospital prices online. Report

L.A. groups plan for emergency pharma distribution

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 06:59:54 -0400

A set of pharma trade groups have set up a coalition that will help areas like New Orleans be better prepared to distribute medications in the event of an emergency. The effort involves setting up a central command center to speed the distribution of medication into areas hit by natural disasters, terrorist attacks or disease epidemics.

The Rx Response coalition has built a Web site giving patients the ability to print a card listing the names and dosages of their prescriptions, their doctor's number and other critical information necessary for continuity of care. Perhaps even more importantly, given their track record after Hurricane Katrina, the groups will also work to nudge federal agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and HHS into providing appropriate supports.

The groups hope to improve on the paralysis which struck the region after Hurricane Katrina. While health leaders like the Louisiana Hospital Association responded, with the LHA, for example, setting up its own drug warehouse for drug drop off and delivery, the existing infrastructure won't meet the region's needs.

To learn more about their plans:
- read this piece

Related Articles:
Feds question New Orleans hospital plans. Report
New Orleans official challenges death rate data. Report
New Orleans hospitals make tougher storm plans. Report
New Orleans health system still on life support. Report
New Orleans goes on international nurse hunt. Report

Maryland hospitals face nurse, professional shortage

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 06:59:56 -0400

Like states across the U.S., Maryland is seeing a growing shortage of healthcare professionals, a Maryland Hospital Association study says. As elsewhere, with nurses retiring and baby boomers aging, the shortage is worsening daily. And new hospital construction, which is booming in some regions, is only making things worse.

To fully staff hospitals throughout Maryland, the MHA says an additional 2,340 nurses are needed. That amounts to a 15.6 percent vacancy rate for nurses. MHA officials say the gap will climb to more than 10,000 nurses. Meanwhile, problems are turning up in other categories; there's been an ongoing decrease in the number of occupational therapists, radiographers and respiratory therapists available.

To learn more about the shortages:
- read this Baltimore Business Journal article

Related Articles:
California nursing shortage looms. Report
Mentors dramatically improve nurse retention. Report
PA launches nurse training initiative. Report
Study says pay is key to solving nurse shortage. Report
New Orleans goes on international nurse hunt. Report

Nevada rule requires hospitals to post quality info

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 20:01:35 -0400

The state of Nevada has passed a new law which requires hospitals to submit quality and cost information to state officials. The information, which will include average lengths of stay and average charges for the top 50 diagnoses, will be posted on a Web site by 2009. While the Nevada Hospital Association already shares data on its members' prices, it hasn't posted quality of care information. Nevada follows several other states which have taken similar steps over the past year.

The new quality requirements come as part of a larger healthcare legislation package. Other new measures require the state to establish an advanced healthcare directive registry and to begin research on how placing stem cells in individuals might cure diseases.

To learn more about the law:
- read this Associated Press piece

ALSO: Several Colorado hospitals have begun sharing estimates of the out-of-pocket costs patients may incur. Article

Related Articles:
HHS plans quality info exchanges. Report
US healthcare quality movement stalls at a critical juncture. Release
Cincinnati hospitals publish quality data. Report
ACP publishes quality measurement tools. Report

PA releases hospital-specific cardiac surgery costs

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 20:01:37 -0400

The state of Pennsylvania has released a new cardiac surgery performance report which for the first time includes hospital-specific payment data. According to the report, which was issued by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, the average payment for heart bypass procedures by commercial health plans was $30,247, and for valve-only procedures $41,651 during 2005. Medicare paid $29,175 for bypasses and $42, 433 for valve-only procedures. The state's hospital association praised the report, though it suggested that in the future, the data should be risk-adjusted to account for differences in a patient's health status.

To find out more about the report:
- read this Philadelphia Business Journal item

ALSO: According to one analysis, the PA study proves that higher prices don't necessarily translate to higher-quality care. Article

Related Article:
PA first to report hospital-specific infection rates. Report
Report card on CA doctors coming. Report
OH hospitals debate quality ratings. Report

ALSO NOTED: House mulls comparative effectiveness agency; NY health plans get more Medicare money; and much more...

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 20:01:30 -0400

> Federal lawmakers are continuing to debate whether Congress should create a new public-private organization which would conduct comparative healthcare effectiveness research. Article

> A new report by New York's hospital association concludes that the state's health plans are doing much better than hospitals under Medicare. Article

> A House committee has asked the HHS Office of the Inspector General to audit how the CDC manages its assets. It seems that the agency has lost track of at least $22 million worth of its property. Article

> A judge has outlined how the breakup of the troubled Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati will work. Article

And Finally... Being a lab rat can be profitable. Article

Wisconsin moving ahead with hospital tax plans

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:01:36 -0400

Nearly all of Wisconsin's hospitals--a full 95 percent--are not-for-profits that enjoy a state property tax exemption. Despite resistance from the hospitals, the state is continuing to look at recouping some of that revenue with a separate hospital-specific tax. State governor Jim Doyle (D) wants to impose an 0.8 percent tax on the state's 109 non-profit hospitals, which he says will generate $418 million in revenues for the state over the next two years. The proposal has been posted by a report suggesting that the non-profits had excess revenues of $837 million in 2004. Like its brethren in other states considering hospital taxes, the Wisconsin Hospital Association characterizes the proposed tax as a "sick tax" which will end up hurting patients.

To find out more about the tax proposal:
- read this Associated Press article

Related Articles:
Wisconsin's hospital tax would create winners, losers. Report
WI hospitals tout community benefit. Report
IL hospital loses high-profile tax case. Report
VHA: Charity policy must come from the top. Report