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May 2009 |
STUDY
General hospitals respond, adapt to specialty hospital competition
Despite concerns of specialty hospitals taking physicians and more-profitable low-risk patients from general and safety-net hospitals, a Center for Studying Health System Change report shows the threat might not be as bad as some believed.
The study shows general and safety net hospitals did not necessarily observe specialty hospitals to be taking away, or “cream-skimming,” low risk or less-complicated cases, though some general hospitals saw a decrease in service volume. Specialty hospitals did appear to alter the payer mix, however.
Visit Health System Change to view the study.
AWARDS
AORN Journal wins ASHPE Bronze
The AORN Journal was awarded the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors (ASHPE) Bronze Award for best feature article for the March 2008 story, ”Special Needs of Older Adults Undergoing Surgery,” by Judith L. Clayton, RN, CNOR.
To read the award winning journal article, visit the AORN Journal Web site.
Each year the ASHPE “recognizes outstanding editorial excellence and achievement in healthcare publications.” The AORN Journal won the ASHPE Bronze Award in 2007 in the Best Cover: Illustration category for the February 2007 issue.
AORN Connections recently received an award as well. "Hidden Dangers," originally published in the July 2008 issue of AORN Connections and written by Senior News Editor Carina Stanton, won the American Society of Healthcare Publications Editors (ASHPE) Gold Award for Best Single News Article. The article provides information about preventing injuries caused during common electrosurgical procedures. Read the article.
AORN’s news team is committed to bringing you the latest news in the perioperative arena. In addition to your print edition, you can also access all the latest stories at aorn.org/News.
GOVERNMENT
New York City official selected to head CDC
The White House announced May 15 the appointment of New York City health commissioner Thomas R. Frieden, MD, as the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Frieden, an infection disease specialist, led efforts to ban smoking in New York City bars and restaurants, and to make HIV testing a routine part of medical exams, The New York Times reports. He is the second person to have served as New York City health commissioner to receive an appointment from the Obama administration. Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, is in the confirmation process to become commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
COVERAGE
CMS will not cover virtual colonoscopies
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced May 12 that it will not cover virtual colonoscopies, or CT colonographies, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The procedure, which uses CT imaging and computer software, was defended by advocates as a means to increase the amount of testing because of its less invasive nature. CMS, however, ruled that, despite its promise, additional testing was needed to determine its effectiveness. The procedure is said to be more effective in finding larger polyps than smaller ones.
SAFETY
Injuries from surgery increase chance of death or hospital readmission
An Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)-funded study found injuries incurred by patients during a surgical procedure dramatically increase the chance of death or hospital readmission.
Injuries, including respiratory failure, infections, lung puncture or other kinds of accidental incidents are seven times more likely to cause adult patients to die while still hospitalized. The study also found that patients accidentally injured during their hospital stay were more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within three months of the procedure than patients who were not injured.
Find this study on PubMed.
ECONOMY
Proposed budget boosts nursing incentives
New incentives for nurse education, both in the classroom and in the field, are part of President Obama’s proposed healthcare workforce development funding for fiscal year 2010, according to HealthLeaders Media.
The Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program could receive $125 million of the proposed $1 billion slated toward strengthening healthcare. That money could be used to grow RN programs and increase the college faculty and facilities. The funding could also go toward advanced education for nurses who have already graduated.
COSTS
High rate of Medicare patients readmitted to hospitals
In a study of nearly 3 million patients discharged from hospitals between October and December 2003, 19.6% were rehospitalized within one month. Within three months, that percentage grew to 34%, and within one year after a procedure, 56.1% of the patients had been readmitted to a hospital. The Times article discusses how some hospitals are working to reduce hospital readmissions amid calls from President Barack Obama to save $26 billion in readmission costs over the next 10 years. Data analyzed by the Times was originally published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Read the full story.
REPORTING
Mass. hospitals reported more than 300 serious reportable events in 2008
A total of 338 serious reportable events occurred in Massachusetts hospitals in 2008, The Massachusetts Department of Public Health reports. The state’s health department data show 62, or about 18%, of the total number of events were surgical. A total of 231 environmental events, such as falls, accounted for the highest percentage of serious reportable events. Care management events, criminal events, product or device events, and patient protection events made up the remaining number of serious reportable events in Massachusetts last year. This is the first year Massachusetts gathered such data. The state’s health department stressed that, because of this, the data are not reliable indicators for judging the quality of care at specific facilities, though the data will serve as a baseline for future surveys of hospital events.
Read the full Massachusetts Department of Public Health release here.
REPORT
Available hospital services vary by region
The distribution of doctors and hospital beds is not always based on population, according to a Reuters report. Where affluent areas tend to have a high ratio of physicians, less affluent areas have too few physicians and rural areas have a surplus of beds. Other factors could be contributing to an imbalance of physicians or hospital beds that does not meet a particular community’s demand. Using data from the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, the report also discusses several changes that could possibly help restore balance.
Read more news in AORN Management Connections.