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Hospital cuts length of stay for babies in the NICU by four days
The average length of stay for premature infants in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s 45-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has dropped from 21 days in 2011 to 17 days, following a series of initiatives to improve care coordination and throughput, along with changes in treatment protocols. The unit is part of the Maxine Dunitz Children’s Health Center.
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Tools improve communication with SNFs, reduce readmissions
By developing a tool that can be used to identify high-risk patients and a checklist to use when patients transition, UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh has improved communication between the hospital and skilled nursing facilities and reduced readmissions.
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Game changer: HHS sets goals for basing payments on quality
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) announcement of goals to tie Medicare fee-for-service payments to quality or value is a game-changer that will impact every case manager across the nation and make the case management role critically important throughout the continuum of care, according to Andy Ziskind, MD, managing director at Huron Consulting, a Chicago-based healthcare consulting firm.
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Changes in RA program are intended to reduce burden on providers
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a number of changes to the Recovery Audit program that will become effective when each new contract is issued. The process to rebid the contracts has been halted because of a lawsuit by a contractor, according to Elizabeth Lamkin, MHA, chief executive officer and partner in PACE Healthcare Consulting, LLC, based in Beaufort County, SC.
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AHA seeks delay of two-midnight rule
The American Hospital Association (AHA) has asked the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to delay enforcement of its controversial two-midnight policy until Oct. 1, 2015, or until the agency develops and implements a short-stay payment policy, whichever comes later.
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The RACs are back: Auditors to start performing complex reviews
After almost a year’s reprieve, hospitals can expect to begin getting records requests from Recovery Auditors as the program goes into full swing again.
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HPV screening: Option to cytology-based options
Primary human papillomavirus (HPV) screening can be considered as an alternative to current U.S. cytology-based cervical cancer screening methods, according to new interim guidance from the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology.1
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Data reaffirm the effectiveness of LNG, copper intrauterine devices
Findings from a recent analysis of data from a large, multi-country study of women using levonorgestrel or copper intrauterine devices (IUDs) indicate that while both forms of contraception have high levels of efficacy, the levonorgestrel device daily releasing 20 mcg (Mirena LNG IUD, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Wayne, NJ) was associated with a significantly lower risk of pregnancy, including ectopic pregnancy, than copper IUDs.1
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Proper review and plan of care documentation can be your best defense
Are you familiar with the documentation requirements for your department? Do you have an obligation to review and sign off on residents’ notes? Does the documentation in the record reflect your plan of care? If you never reviewed, how do you know? Unfortunately, in one recent case where the medical care could be explained, the matter was settled due to insufficient documentation — which a good plaintiff attorney can characterize as sloppy and inattentive care.
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Hospitals Financially Penalized for Readmissions Outside Their Control
A new study says it’s unfair and possibly counter-productive.