Hospital Peer Review – August 1, 2017
August 1, 2017
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Board Members Involved in Quality Can Be Quality Resource
Quality improvement leaders should strive for a working relationship with hospital boards of directors and help the members gain the knowledge necessary to be meaningful champions of quality initiatives. However, that does not mean that board members should be expected to participate in the day-to-day efforts to improve quality and patient safety.
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Smartphone Alerts for Lab Results Speed ED Discharge
Delivering lab results immediately to a specially provided smartphone helps physicians discharge patients significantly faster from the ED, according to recent research.
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Communication Challenges Can Threaten Quality
Language barriers may be commonly recognized as threats to quality of care and patient safety, and hospitals routinely provide resources to overcome that barrier. But communication challenges can come in many forms and hospitals often are blind to them, leading to serious risks, one expert cautions.
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Changes to Readmissions Rule Will Help, But No Panacea
CMS has proposed a change that would have it consider a hospital’s proportion of dual-eligibles when determining penalties under Medicare’s Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP), a change welcomed by hospitals that have long argued dual-eligible patients are more expensive for hospitals and skewing readmissions figures for safety-net hospitals.
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Quality Payment Program Delaying Some Requirements
CMS is attempting to lower the burden of the Quality Payment Program for small practices and other clinicians, with a proposed rule that would update the physician payment programs created as a part of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act. The changes could be important for hospitals and health systems with affiliated physician practices.