Tag Archives: Health System
Is the CQO Position Needed?
“In a healthcare system’s most mature state, everyone owns quality,” says Baylor Scott & White Health’s chief quality officer. So if everyone owns quality, why have a CQO?
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/what-makes-an-ideal-chief-quality-officer.html
IU Health Has a Different Leader, Different Strategy
IU Health’s new top boss says the ability to withstand constant change will be a mark of success for top health systems.
Health Sector Economic Indicators – Price Brief
Click to access CSHS-Price-Brief_July_2016.pdf
Health care prices in May 2016 were 1.5% higher than in May 2015, the third consecutive month at this rate. The May 2016 12month moving average was 1.2% for the fourth straight month. Year-over-year hospital price growth rose modestly to 1.0% from 0.8% in April. Physician and clinical services prices rose only 0.3% in May, down from 0.6% growth in April. Drug price growth fell to 3.3% from 4.0% in April.
Health Sector Economic Indicators – Spending Brief
Click to access CSHS-Spending-Brief_July_2016.pdf
National health spending in May 2016 was 5.0% higher than in May 2015. Spending on prescription drugs dropped to 5.2% growth, continuing its decline from the 12.2% spike in 2014. The health spending share of gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 18.1% in April as moderate health spending growth of 5.2% still far outpaced anemic GDP growth of 3.3%. Official government projections released on July 13 anticipate spending growth of 4.8% for all of 2016, the lowest rate since 2013.
New Health System Scorecard Finds Improvement in Most U.S. Communities Since ACA Took Effect
Many U.S. communities saw gains in their health and health care between 2011 and 2014, but wide variation in progress indicates there is room for improvement across the country, The Commonwealth Fund’s newly updated Scorecard on Local Health System Performance finds.
Those areas of the U.S. that improved did so largely because more people had insurance coverage and could afford to get the care they needed, and because health care providers performed better on quality and efficiency measures—such as limiting hospital readmissions. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has contributed to many of these improvements, the researchers say.
Still, the analysis of 306 U.S. local areas on health care access, quality, avoidable hospital use, costs of care, and health outcomes shows that while care improved more than it worsened in nearly all communities, the gains were often modest. Among the more worrisome trends are the rise in obesity rates in more than 100 areas and the stagnation in preventable death rates nearly everywhere.
The Commonwealth Fund’s interactive scorecard features data visualizations, an online tool enabling comparisons of U.S. communities, and complete area-by-area results on the scorecard’s 36 health system indicators.
Kaiser accuses California ex-employee of embezzling $7 million
A subsidiary of healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente has filed a lawsuit in California accusing a former employee responsible for investigating insurance fraud claims of embezzling $7 million.
The suit by Kaiser Foundation Health Plan accuses Michael Albert Quinn of submitting invoices for investigative services that were not performed or were not justified over a 16-year span after he joined the company in 1998.
Quinn, 45, worked in Oakland and was responsible for hiring investigators to conduct surveillance on people who were suspected of filing fraudulent claims, the suit says. It says he was authorized to approve charges of as much as $50,000.
Radiologists Take On Bigger Role in Diagnosing
The doctors who interpret imaging scans have begun working more closely with physicians who make medical decisions for patients at NYU Langone Medical Center.
Survey reveals 3 value-based payment trends to watch
Former UAB Hospital food services employee charged with $1M cash theft
Federal prosecutors charged a former University of Alabama at Birmingham employee with stealing more than $1 million over six years from a cash room she oversaw.
Kyejuana Avery was charged Friday with one count of theft between 2008 and 2013 concerning programs receiving federal funds. The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed the charge, along with a plea agreement, in U.S. District Court. Avery will plead guilty to the charge and will pay restitution to UBA in an amount to be determined at sentencing. The maximum penalty for theft concerning programs receiving federal funds is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Ms. Avery had worked as a financial account representative at UAB in the Hospital Food and Nutrition Services Department from 2007 to 2013. She was responsible for the “Cash Room,” where cashiers from various food and beverage locations throughout the hospital are able to exchange high denomination bills for smaller bills and coins to make change for customers.
HENRY KOTULA 