Posted by: stantheman817 on: November 8, 2009
International survey of physicians reveals information
“Fifty-eight percent of primary care doctors in the U.S. report their patients often have difficulty paying for medications and care, and half of U.S. doctors spend substantial time dealing with restrictions insurance companies place on their patients’ care, according to findings from the 2009 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey published online in the journal Health Affairs. The responses of U.S. doctors also stand out in the 11-country survey because the vast majority (69%) report that their practices do not have provisions for after-hours care, forcing patients to seek care in emergency departments. U.S. doctors were also far less likely to use health information technology that helps reduce errors and improve care—only 46 percent of U.S. doctors use electronic medical records compared to 99 percent of doctors in the Netherlands and 97 percent of doctors in New Zealand and Norway.”
Posted by: stantheman817 on: October 25, 2009
“Ten hospitals affiliated with Sutter Health received the prestigious “Certificate of Excellence” from the California Hospital Assessment and Reporting Task Force (CHART). Only 36 hospital campuses across California (of 218 participating hospitals) received this honor – one-third are affiliated with the Sutter Health network.
The “Certificate of Excellence” recognizes that the winning hospital achieved above average or superior scores in five of the eight CHART measurements, did not receive any “below average” or “poor” score on any measure, and reported data for all of the measurements for which they qualify.”
Posted by: stantheman817 on: October 25, 2009
QUEST: High-Performing Hospitals first-year results
“Five Aurora Health Care hospitals are among the top performers in a national quality and safety initiative that provides new evidence of the power of quality improvement efforts to both save lives and reduce costs.
The initiative, QUEST: High-Performing Hospitals, is intended to act as a springboard for hospitals to reach new levels of performance and public reporting while informing the public policy debate over the future of health care. The initiative’s first-year results, announced today, showed that the 157 not-for-profit hospitals participating in QUEST saved an estimated 8,043 lives and $577 million in costs.”
Posted by: stantheman817 on: October 22, 2009
“Hospital administrators, physicians, and researchers may argue over the validity of quality ratings and rankings, but the fact remains that these reports are readily available to the public. How these measures affect the relationships among clinicians remains an open question. Individuals can see ratings through a variety of sources, including Thomson Reuters’ “100 Top Hospitals” report as well as on such Web sites as US News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals,” Consumer Reports Health, HealthGrades, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ “Hospital Compare,” and the Leapfrog Group’s online hospital ratings tool.”
Posted by: stantheman817 on: October 22, 2009
For nearly 3,800 U.S. hospitals—the vast majority of the nation’s centers—you can now go to the facility’s individual page at America’s Best Hospitals and click on the “What Patients Say” tab to see how satisfied patients were in 10 respects. These hospitals now sample a year’s worth of recently discharged patients and ask them to respond to a survey consisting of a standardized set of questions and multiple-choice answers.”
Posted by: stantheman817 on: October 22, 2009
Twelfth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study
HealthGrades has just released The Twelfth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, which rates US hospitals on procedures and diagnoses, mortality and complication rates, and lets consumers see the ratings for 5,000 hospitals online. It includes ratings on 28 different procedures and diagnoses.
Posted by: stantheman817 on: October 20, 2009
Opinion by Bruce A. Boissonnault
“In health care reform, what you don’t know can hurt you. Quality of care varies widely from provider to provider, and access to objective information about those providers remains highly restricted in the United States. That may explain why U.S. health care quality results are the worst among developed countries, according to many sources — including the World Health Organization.”
Posted by: stantheman817 on: October 20, 2009
New section on Virginia Health Information Web site
Virginia Health Information Web site now has a new section on price transparency. Virginia Health Information is a nonprofit agency contracted by the state to collect and report consumer health data. The price figures are based on information from eight health insurance companies.
Posted by: stantheman817 on: October 20, 2009
Sixth annual report measuring hospital performance
New Jersey’s 2009 Hospital Performance Report was released on October 15, 2009. The sixth annual report measures hospital performance in four treatment categories: heart attack, pneumonia, surgical care and heart failure. Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville and AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City were the top performers.
Posted by: stantheman817 on: October 20, 2009
info submitted to Alabama Hospital Quality Initiative (AHQI)
The information became public in July when BCBS posted the ranking on its Web site, www.bcbsal.org. The ranking is based on information voluntarily submitted to the Alabama Hospital Quality Initiative (AHQI). Through AHQI, hospitals in the state are working to create a statewide path to transparency and collaboration for quality improvement.
