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Stroke, VTE a no show in CMS proposed IPPS rule but added as TJC core measures

While measure sets on venous thromboembolism (VTE) and stroke were expected to be part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) recently released proposed 2010 rule for the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS), the draft did not include those as required measure sets for reporting in 2010.

TJC, CMS release new specifications manual

In April, The Joint Commission and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) put out an updated measures specifications manual that introduced two new core measures.

Bucketing the core measures

Much like it did with the accreditation standards, The Joint Commission is considering "recategorizing" the core measures into groups, says Jerod M. Loeb, PhD, executive vice president for quality measurement and research.

Joint Commission to review four patient safety goals

As reported earlier this year in Hospital Peer Review, The Joint Commission is taking a look at National Patient Safety Goal #8, medication reconciliation, with which hospitals are struggling. Now, it is taking a look at three other challenging goals; but unlike with medication reconciliation, the others still will impact accreditation decisions.

Which core measures are hospitals struggling with?

Frank Zibrat, associate director, ORYX implementation at The Joint Commission, says one of the areas hospitals are still struggling with regarding the core measures is the surgical care improvement project (SCIP) measures. Specifically, "the issue of the discontinuation of antibiotics and the selection of antibiotics."

Patient Satisfaction Planner: Pre-op initiatives aid discharge planning

One patient who was attending a preoperative class for joint replacement patients at Geisinger Health System joked that he was being discharged before he ever got to the hospital, recalls Trisha Whispell, BSN, MSW, ACS, social work care manager, who, with her RN care manager partner, presents a pre-admission class on joint replacement and manages care for patients after surgery.

Patient Satisfaction Planner: ED triage improves patient flow

A new emergency department (ED) triage system at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, FL, decreased the time that elapses between when patients arrive and when they are treated by 33%, slashed the number of patients who left without treatment by 50%, and cut 20 minutes off the total turnaround time from when patients arrive at the ED and when they are discharged or admitted.

Patient Satisfaction Planner: Making sure all voices are heard

Some health care facilities provide medical treatment to people throughout the United States, while others serve those who live in the surrounding neighborhood.

Patient Satisfaction Planner: 'Seniors-only' ED draws raves from patients

The senior emergency center at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, MD, may be a rarity, but based on the responses of patients and staff not to mention our increasingly aging population perhaps more EDs should consider creating a separate unit for older patients.

Swine flu Q&A with UPMC biosecurity expert

Dr. Eric Toner is a senior associate with the Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). He is a physician board certified in internal medicine and emergency medicine.

Study shows gap in care for discharged patients

Knowing your readmission rate is critical and will become even more important as the health care industry waits for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' decision on how to alter reimbursement based on rehospitalization rates.

Proven care transition models are out there

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine, "Rehospitalizations among patients in the Medicare fee-for-service program," is getting a lot of press and attention, and was the subject of a webinar presented by The Commonwealth Fund. That organization's vice president, quality improvement and efficiency, Anne-Marie Audet tells Hospital Peer Review why readmission rates should be one of your top priorities.

Reform and the bigger picture of quality

As we move toward myriad changes in the way health care is paid for and move toward a system that becomes increasingly tied in to value-based purchasing, Cheryl Wagonhurst, partner with Folley & Lardner LLP, suggests quality managers look at the big picture and create strategic plans to address quality as a broader, holistic objective.

Hospital Peer Review – June 1, 2009

June 1, 2009