Articles
Care Delivery, Quality & Patient Safety
Hospitals Reduce Disparities in CMS Inpatient Core Measures
Between 2005 and 2010, disparities in care between white and black patients fell for 13 of the 17 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services inpatient process measures. Disparities between white and Hispanic patients fell for 14 of the measures, according to a report published in the Dec. 14, 2014, New England Journal of Medicine.
Care Delivery, Strategic Planning, Workforce
Report: Focus on Retention Needed in Long-Term Care Workers
Workers are leaving the long-term care field faster than those entering it across all LTC sectors, which could create problems down the road when home care and long-term care volumes are expected to soar, according to a report from the UCSF Health Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care.
Delivery System Transformation, Rural issues, Strategic Planning, Issues & Trends
Rural Hospital Utilization
The number of emergency department visits also grew by 6 percent, according to AHA DataViewer. At the same time, rural hospitals boosted their workforce: the number of FTEs increased by 7 percent.
Although rural hospitals had more than 4 million inpatient admissions in 2013, that number represents a 17 percent decline in admissions since 2006. The number of births dropped by 8 percent during the same period. Rural hospitals also reduced the number of staffed beds by 11 percent. Overall, the total number of rural hospitals declined by 1 percent.
Financial Oversight
Study Forecasts Uptick in Philanthropy in 2015/2016
Hospitals may see an uptick in giving in the next year and a half, according to predictions from “Philanthropy Outlook: 2015 & 2016.” The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy report predicts that total giving will increase by 4.8 percent in 2015 and 4.9 percent in 2016. Among corporations, foundations, estates and individuals, the greatest increase is expected from foundations (7.2 percent growth in 2015 and 6.7 percent in 2016).
Affordable Care Act, Delivery System Transformation, Legislation and Legislative Advocacy, Physician Workforce, Strategic Planning, Workforce
ACA Sparks Five Trends to Watch
Since the Affordable Care Act became law five years ago, it has led to major shifts in health care delivery and payment.
Financial Oversight, Legislation and Legislative Advocacy, Care Delivery
Hospital Outpatient Departments Treat Sicker, Poorer Patients
Hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) treat sicker and poorer patients than do physician offices, according to a new study. Prepared for the American Hospital Association, the study aimed to determine whether there were differences in patient demographics or care between HOPDs and physician offices. Compared with patients treated in physician offices, those treated in HOPDs are:
Care Delivery
10 Traits the Countrys Best Primary Care Practices Share
Primary care physicians who are providing high-quality care at a low cost are doing so by adapting to a changing world, according to Stanford University researchers. Their research identified 11 top-performing primary care groups across the country and 10 common practices they share with the goal of giving guidance to others.
Care Delivery, Quality & Patient Safety
Most Executives Expect Population Health Investments to Pay Off in Four Years
More than half of health executives expect to recoup their investments in population health management within four years, according to a survey report from KPMG. Other respondents weren’t quite as optimistic: 29 percent expect their investments in health information technology and data and analytic tools to pay off in five or more years; and 14 percent do not expect to recoup their costs at all.
Operational Excellence, Care Delivery
Outpatient Visits Are Up
A primary care department is a unit or clinic within a hospital that provides such primary care services as general pediatric care, general internal medicine, family practice and gynecology through hospital-salaried physician and nursing staff. It focuses on evaluating and diagnosing medical problems and providing treatment on an outpatient basis.
Care Delivery, Quality & Patient Safety
Hospitals Make Progress in Reducing Infections
Hospitals are making progress in reducing health care-associated infections, but additional work is still needed, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Central line-associated bloodstream infections declined by 46 percent between 2008 and 2013. During the same period, the incidence of surgical-site infections related to 10 select procedures declined by 19 percent. And between 2011 and 2013, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections decreased by 8 percent.