Healthcare spending is 10 percent higher for hospital employees than
it is for the general employee population, according to a study by the healthcare business of Thomson Reuters. The gap is wider when employees' dependents are factored in. The cost
of healthcare for hospital workers and family members covered by their
health insurance is 13 percent higher than average.
In addition to using more healthcare services, hospital employees and
their dependents also were found to be less healthy. They had an 8.6
percent greater illness burden than the U.S. workforce at large and were
more likely to be diagnosed with chronic medical conditions including
asthma, diabetes, congestive heart failure, HIV, hypertension and mental
illness.
The research also found that hospital workers and their families had
fewer physician office visits, yet were 22 percent more likely to visit
the emergency room.
"Ideally, the healthcare workforce would be a model for healthy
behaviors and the appropriate use of medical resources," said Raymond
Fabius, MD, chief medical officer for the Healthcare business of Thomson
Reuters. "Unfortunately, our data suggests that the opposite is true
today. Hospitals that tackle this issue can strengthen their business
performance and community service."
To read the full article please visit Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare
Monday, September 12, 2011
Patient Safety Checklists Help Michigan Hospitals ROI
Published on American Medical News Website
Michigan hospitals that implemented checklists to prevent central line-associated bloodstream infections in their intensive care units saw an average tenfold return on their investment in patient safety, said a study published in the September/October issue of the American Journal of Medical Quality(www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21856956).
Each catheter-related bloodstream infection costs a Michigan hospital $36,500 to treat, on average, but implementing the checklist program costs only about $3,375 per infection avoided. More than 100 Michigan ICUs were able to cut bloodstream infections by an average of two-thirds, with many hospitals eliminating the infections entirely. On average, each hospital saved about $1.1 million a year by implementing the patient safety program, the study said. The patient safety "bundle" now being spread to hospitals nationwide costs each hospital an average of $161,000 to put into place, mostly for staff time.
For more information on reducing Hospital Acquired Infections please visit Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Apollo Data Technologies Health Changes Name to Metodcare, Inc.
Apollo Data Technologies Health, Inc. announces today that the
company has changed its name to MethodCare,
Inc. MethodCare
provides hospital predictive analytics software for the revenue cycle using
proven data mining technology to identify greater revenue, savings, and
staff performance. MethodCare's
real-time advanced analytics arm hospital administrators with the
critical intelligence to make strategic, data-driven business decisions
and proactive improvements to address the growing demands of financial
and regulatory pressures.
"The name MethodCare
better personifies our mission--to provide hospitals with a new method of
leveraging their data to increase financial health and quality of
patient care," said Jeff Kaplan, chief executive officer, MethodCare.
"We look forward to our rapid expansion and continuing to provide our
valued customers with the latest data mining and analytics to help them
operate more efficiently and profitably."
MethodCare's
suite of software includes, AR
Management, CDM
Management, Charge
Recovery, Contract
Management, Credit
Balance Automation, Denial
Management, Patient Safety, and Payment
Validation. Hospitals and health systems across the U.S., such as
Northwestern Memorial Hospital, have realized significant savings from MethodCare's
software.
10 Things to Know about Retained Surgical Sponges
By Jim Sweeney
Senior VP of Sales & Marketing
ClearCount Medical Solutions
published on Becker's ASC Review
Retained surgical sponges are one of the oldest surgical complications documented in clinical literature and remain today an enduring risk to operating room facilities, personnel and the public they serve. Today there is hope that with the addition of new technology, the incidence of retained sponges can be dramatically reduced or even eliminated. Here are 10 things you should know about this persistent problem.
1. Retained surgical items (RSIs) are the most frequent and most costly surgical "never event," according to data from CMS.[1] In Oct. 2008, Medicare implemented policy to no longer reimburse hospitals for consequential surgical procedures and charges associated with this hospital-acquired error. Most private insurers subsequently followed this reimbursement policy.
2. In 2010, RSIs became the #1 sentinel event reported in the United States among all adverse events that can lead to patient injury.[2] Sentinel events are defined and tracked by The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals as a condition of licensure and the receipt of Medicaid reimbursement.
3. Surgical sponges represent over two-thirds of all RSIs due to their prevalence and function in surgery, and are typically regarded as the most dangerous retained item due to complications of serious infection and adherence to critical tissue and organ structures. It is also estimated that each retained surgical sponge incident costs providers more than $250,000 per incident.[3]
4. According to a New England Journal of Medicine article, approximately one in every 1,500 chest or abdominal surgeries results in a sponge or other item being accidentally left inside the patient.[4] Estimates of annual incidence translate to 40-60 cases of retained incidents per week throughout the United States.
5. The underlying cause of RSIs is predominantly due to falsely reconciled sponge counts. In 88 percent of the cases where a retained item is discovered, retrospective review of the surgical record indicates the surgical staff believed they had accounted for all items used in the surgical case.[5]
to read the full article please visit Becker's ASC Review
To read about Patient Safety programs and case studies please visit www.psqh.com
Senior VP of Sales & Marketing
ClearCount Medical Solutions
published on Becker's ASC Review
Retained surgical sponges are one of the oldest surgical complications documented in clinical literature and remain today an enduring risk to operating room facilities, personnel and the public they serve. Today there is hope that with the addition of new technology, the incidence of retained sponges can be dramatically reduced or even eliminated. Here are 10 things you should know about this persistent problem.
1. Retained surgical items (RSIs) are the most frequent and most costly surgical "never event," according to data from CMS.[1] In Oct. 2008, Medicare implemented policy to no longer reimburse hospitals for consequential surgical procedures and charges associated with this hospital-acquired error. Most private insurers subsequently followed this reimbursement policy.
2. In 2010, RSIs became the #1 sentinel event reported in the United States among all adverse events that can lead to patient injury.[2] Sentinel events are defined and tracked by The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals as a condition of licensure and the receipt of Medicaid reimbursement.
3. Surgical sponges represent over two-thirds of all RSIs due to their prevalence and function in surgery, and are typically regarded as the most dangerous retained item due to complications of serious infection and adherence to critical tissue and organ structures. It is also estimated that each retained surgical sponge incident costs providers more than $250,000 per incident.[3]
4. According to a New England Journal of Medicine article, approximately one in every 1,500 chest or abdominal surgeries results in a sponge or other item being accidentally left inside the patient.[4] Estimates of annual incidence translate to 40-60 cases of retained incidents per week throughout the United States.
5. The underlying cause of RSIs is predominantly due to falsely reconciled sponge counts. In 88 percent of the cases where a retained item is discovered, retrospective review of the surgical record indicates the surgical staff believed they had accounted for all items used in the surgical case.[5]
to read the full article please visit Becker's ASC Review
To read about Patient Safety programs and case studies please visit www.psqh.com
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Mass. Governor Patrick Touts MetroWest Medical Center Use of EarlySense
Technology aimed at alerting doctors when the condition of their
patients deteriorates is at the center of MetroWest Medical Center’s new
patient safety and quality care initiative, which Gov. Deval Patrick
will help tout this afternoon in Framingham.
The hospital initiative, using technology developed by EarlySense Ltd., will be the focus of a product demonstration, followed by a symposium on advances in patient safety at acute care hospitals and long-term care facilities. Organizers say there have been 50 cases documented in the past year in which alerts provided by the EarlySense system helped nurses and doctors save the lives of their patients. EarlySense recently announced its decision to locate its headquarters in Massachusetts.
The hospital initiative, using technology developed by EarlySense Ltd., will be the focus of a product demonstration, followed by a symposium on advances in patient safety at acute care hospitals and long-term care facilities. Organizers say there have been 50 cases documented in the past year in which alerts provided by the EarlySense system helped nurses and doctors save the lives of their patients. EarlySense recently announced its decision to locate its headquarters in Massachusetts.
Excela Health Selects RF Surgical to Reduce Retained Surgical Errors
RF Assure Detection System Helps Hospitals Improve Patient Safety
By Bob Stiles
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
By waving an instrument that resembles a big soap bubble wand, Excela Health medical staff can tell if a sponge has been mistakenly left inside a patient during surgery. They began using the RF Assure Detection System in its three hospitals in Westmoreland County and the Norwin Medical Commons.
The surgical team either passes the wand over the patient or places a mat under the patient to locate a forgotten sponge. The instruments activate microchips -- the size of a pea -- that have been inserted into the sponges. A beep or sustained tone sounds if the devices detect a sponge. "We're the first health system in the area to use it," said Jesse Hixson, Excela perioperative nurse manager. The process takes about six seconds, and the sponges add a $15 cost to a surgery, Hixson said.
A left-behind sponge, which looks like gauze, can cause discomfort, infection or even death.
"We're trying to do things for patient safety," said Dr. Marc Costa, chairman of Excela's department of surgery. "We want to make sure leaving behind a sponge doesn't happen."
Sponges are used in surgery when a cavity is opened, such as a chest or abdomen. Typically, surgeons will use about 15 sponges; the number jumps to 100 during an open-heart operation, Hixson said.
A sponge is left behind once in every 1,500 cases, according to RF Surgical Systems Inc., the Bellevue, Wash., company that makes the detection system. Some studies put the number at one in 5,000 cases.Before an operation, a circulatory nurse and a scrub technician count sponges and medical instruments, and the count is repeated when the surgery is finished, Costa said.
According to RF Surgical, its system is used in hospitals in Cincinnati, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, among others. There is no cost for the devices but hospitals must purchase the special sponges from the company. The detection instruments are used at different times during the operation, and records of the checks are kept on file."(The detection system) is used to supplement our count, not replace the counting process," Hixson said. "There's no excuse for (sponge errors) to happen."
"And we don't want it to happen," said Marci Cook, Excela vice president of perioperative service.
By Bob Stiles
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
By waving an instrument that resembles a big soap bubble wand, Excela Health medical staff can tell if a sponge has been mistakenly left inside a patient during surgery. They began using the RF Assure Detection System in its three hospitals in Westmoreland County and the Norwin Medical Commons.
The surgical team either passes the wand over the patient or places a mat under the patient to locate a forgotten sponge. The instruments activate microchips -- the size of a pea -- that have been inserted into the sponges. A beep or sustained tone sounds if the devices detect a sponge. "We're the first health system in the area to use it," said Jesse Hixson, Excela perioperative nurse manager. The process takes about six seconds, and the sponges add a $15 cost to a surgery, Hixson said.
A left-behind sponge, which looks like gauze, can cause discomfort, infection or even death.
"We're trying to do things for patient safety," said Dr. Marc Costa, chairman of Excela's department of surgery. "We want to make sure leaving behind a sponge doesn't happen."
Sponges are used in surgery when a cavity is opened, such as a chest or abdomen. Typically, surgeons will use about 15 sponges; the number jumps to 100 during an open-heart operation, Hixson said.
A sponge is left behind once in every 1,500 cases, according to RF Surgical Systems Inc., the Bellevue, Wash., company that makes the detection system. Some studies put the number at one in 5,000 cases.Before an operation, a circulatory nurse and a scrub technician count sponges and medical instruments, and the count is repeated when the surgery is finished, Costa said.
According to RF Surgical, its system is used in hospitals in Cincinnati, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, among others. There is no cost for the devices but hospitals must purchase the special sponges from the company. The detection instruments are used at different times during the operation, and records of the checks are kept on file."(The detection system) is used to supplement our count, not replace the counting process," Hixson said. "There's no excuse for (sponge errors) to happen."
"And we don't want it to happen," said Marci Cook, Excela vice president of perioperative service.
Friday, September 2, 2011
New Report Indicates Hospitals With More Procedures Have Better Patient Safety
Hospitals with larger volumes of procedures have better patient safety. A new study in the journal Health Services Research found that hospital volume is inversely related to preventable adverse events."That means that the more procedures these hospitals were performing, the lower rates they would have of adverse events," said lead author Tina Hernandez-Boussard in a Health Behavior News Service article.
Researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine examined the rates of nine different adverse events in hospitalized patients after three surgical procedures. In almost every case, hospitals with higher surgical volume--more than 28 procedures per year for abdominal aortic aneurysm, more than 245 for heart bypass surgery, and more than 89 for gastric bypass surgery--had fewer adverse events than hospitals with low volumes of surgery.
The findings suggest that hospitals below a certain surgical volume shouldn't be doing the procedure, Dr. David Bates, executive director of the Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice and chief of general internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, told Health Behavior News.
Researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine examined the rates of nine different adverse events in hospitalized patients after three surgical procedures. In almost every case, hospitals with higher surgical volume--more than 28 procedures per year for abdominal aortic aneurysm, more than 245 for heart bypass surgery, and more than 89 for gastric bypass surgery--had fewer adverse events than hospitals with low volumes of surgery.
The findings suggest that hospitals below a certain surgical volume shouldn't be doing the procedure, Dr. David Bates, executive director of the Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice and chief of general internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, told Health Behavior News.
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