Monthly Archives: August 2017

Today's Top Story OIG: During first 3 years of MSSP, ACOs reduced spending and improved quality overall. A report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) suggests that accountable care organizations (ACOs) may help reduce spending and improve quality. The agency analyzed spending and quality data to determine the extent to which ACOs reduced Medicare spending and improved quality during the first 3 years of the Medicare Shared Savings Program. [...]

Today's Top Story CMS increases transparency regarding patients tracked under Medicare Shared Savings ACOs. Modern Healthcare reports that the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking steps to increase transparency regarding which patients are assessed as part of participation in Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs). Some providers have complained about the current process, under which patients are primarily assigned to ACOs retroactively at the end of the year. Supporters of the current approach state that [...]

Today's Top Story AAOS, other healthcare groups, comment on QPP proposal. Earlier this week, healthcare advocacy groups sent comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding a 2018 proposed rule for the Quality Payment Program (QPP). Among other things, the proposed rule exempts more small providers from the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), allows hospital-based physicians to report at a facility level, introduces virtual reporting groups, and eases electronic health record requirements. Read more...(registration may [...]

oday's Top Story Study: NSQUIP risk tool predicts SNF discharge but not other events. A study evaluating the Surgical Risk Tool Calculator, the online tool of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP), found that for total joint arthroplasty procedures, the tool is an adequate predictor of discharge to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) or rehabilitation but has limited usefulness for adverse events of 90-day readmission, return to operating room, deep vein thrombosis, and [...]

Today's Top Story Study finds sustained opioid use is not tied to hospital events, associated procedures. According to a study published online in JAMA Surgery, "most of the events that led to sustained prescription opioid use were not hospital events and associated procedures, but diagnoses that were either nonspecific or associated with spinal or other conditions for which opioid administration is not considered standard of care." The study identified 117,118 patients, insured through TRICARE, who met the criteria [...]

Today's Top Story Proposal would cut funding to ONC and AHRQ; increase FDA budget. Healthcare IT News reports that a proposal released by the U.S. House of Representatives Rules Committee would, if enacted, significantly reduce the budgets for the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) and the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) but increase the budget for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by $500 million. Under the proposed legislation, ONC would receive just [...]

Today's Top Story CMS issues proposed rule to reduce mandatory participation in CJR; eliminate SHFFT. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a proposed rule to reduce the number of mandatory geographic areas participating in the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model from 67 to 34, with CJR participants in the 33 remaining areas allowed to participate on a voluntary basis. The agency also proposes to make CJR participation voluntary for all low-volume [...]

Today's Top Story Study: How often are medical errors disclosed to patients? A study published online in the Journal of Patient Safety examines trends in disclosure and apology following medical errors. The researchers reviewed data on 434 medical liability claims from a private insurance database. They found that 4.6 percent (n = 20) of medical errors were disclosed to the patient at the time of the error, while 5.9 percent (n = 26) were followed by disclosure and [...]