Ninety-one percent of consumers, employers and brokers said that Web-based personal health records, online physician comparisons and online hospital comparisons are beneficial, according to a new TriZetto survey, reports iHealthBeat.
Eighty-eight percent of survey respondents also said that online health plan comparisons are beneficial.
Washington Post reports that CMS has issued a new rule requiring hospice providers participating in Medicare to implement a quality assessment and improvement system. The rule, set to take effect in December, mandates that hospices allow patients to help decide on treatment plans and demonstrate improvement in areas where they are found deficient.
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration will post data on potentially preventable hospital readmissions on its consumer-oriented Web site FloridaHealthFinder.gov, in an effort to assist officials to identify and prevent avoidable hospitalizations, reports Modern Healthcare. The statewide figures will allow hospitals for the first time to track patients who may be discharged from one hospital and quickly readmitted to another.
AmedNews.com reports on new laws in Colorado which will enable physicians to review and contest health plan rating systems, patients to have standardized and possibly electronic health plan IDs, and insurance companies to develop new types of plans that the state may help consumers purchase.
Fierce HealthCare reports: California hospitals have made their first official disclosures of never events occurring in their facilities. The disclosures, which cover the period between July 2007 and May 2008, address 28 never events specified in the legislation (state law enacted in 2006).
The Michigan Health & Hospital Association joins a growing list of hospital associations, states and payers who have adopted policies to stop billing patients for certain serious preventable errors ("never events") and hospital-acquired conditions. This follows on from Medicare's decision to cease payment from 2008, for specific hospital medical errors.
Rhode Island lawmakers have approved patient-safety legislation that would create a database for voluntary reporting of medical errors by healthcare providers and insurance companies, to compliment existing reporting requirements. The legislation would also establish a 14-member care-advisory committee to review the database findings and create quality-improvement strategies.
Rosa Baier updates us:
Rhode Island's Department of Health currently reports clinical quality measures and patient satisfaction for nursing homes, home health agencies, and hospitals. The 2007 satisfaction reports for nursing homes and home health agencies have both been updated within the past 2 months:
Home health:
http://www.health.ri.gov/chic/performance/homehealth/index.php#satisfaction
http://www.health.ri.gov/media/080529a.php
AHA News Reports: Tennessee Hospitals Announce Payment Policy for Certain Adverse Events
The Tennessee Hospital Association has approved a policy recommending hospitals in the state not to seek payment for care related to certain serious adverse events- if the hospital deems the event was preventable.
From Modern Healthcare News: California’s health insurers trade group is supporting the prohibition on reimbursing providers on “never events”.
The board for the California Association of Health Plans unanimously passed a decision in favor of no longer paying for eight never events.
The California Association is also endorsing a bill that would prohibit providers from billing payers for adverse events that cause the death or injury of a patient.
From the Modern Healthcare News: Massachusetts will no longer pay for care related to serious hospital errors (“never-events”).
They will end reimbursement for care related to 28 serious reportable events, defined by the National Quality Forum (NQF).
More on Article: Massachusetts to halt payment for ‘never events’
Giorgi Lomsadze reports on Georgia’s healthcare system.
Georgia has launched the "100 Hospital Bill", where Private companies, such as pharmaceutical firms, are taking over public hospitals –aiming to improve quality services of facilities.
Read More on Giorgi Lomsadze’s Article: GEORGIA SAYS FAREWELL TO PUBLIC HEALTHCARE
Kaiser Daily News: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has awarded a total of $24.5 million to its highest-performing members in a Medicare pay-for-performance project.
Read More on Press Release: CMS Recognizes Hospitals in Medicare Pay-for-Performance Pilot Project With Financial Awards
Sarah Mcintosh, in Kansas reports the increase of in-store health clinics opening in pharmacies. These in-store clinics offer both acute and preventative care. They also provide price transparency by posting a list of services and prices ahead of time.
With in-store health clinics, consumers don’t have to worry about going to the doctor’s office when it is closed, or making a trip to the emergency room for the “common cold”.
Physicians have long been vocal in their concerns over the ever-growing number of report cards attempting to report on the physician's quality of care. Many of these reports are of course made available by the insurers. What's a doc to do?
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