At the March 2010 meeting of the 5th Decennial International Conference on Healthcare Associated Infections, the Hospital Corporation of America reported that they were able to achieve >96% healthcare worker vaccination for seasonal influenza.
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement posted the powerpoint presentation on its website yesterday. You can find it here: http://www.ihi.org/IHI/Topics/HealthcareAssociatedInfections/InfectionsGeneral/EmergingContent/ImplementationFluVaccineStrategy.htm
The conference website has posted an abstract. It is copied and pasted below:
Abstract Title: Implementation of a Successful Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Strategy in a Large Healthcare System
Background: As part of a comprehensive seasonal influenza prevention strategy, the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) implemented a program that required employees who could infect or become infected by a patient to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine or wear a surgical mask in patient care areas. HCA is the nation's largest provider of healthcare services, composed of locally managed facilities that include 163 hospitals, 112 outpatient centers and
368 physician practices in 20 states. The strategy was announced by the corporate CEO and Chief Medical Officer. A core group representing emergency preparedness, infection prevention, human resources, legal, pharmacy, communications, and supply was formed. This core group recommended strategy, provided tools, resources, and regular flu updates for the program. The reason for the program, as well as implementation strategies were relayed in a webcast to all facilities. Non vaccine strategies, such as cough and sneeze etiquette, proper hand hygiene, proper cleaning techniques, and hazards of Presenteeism were also introduced. Human resources policies were changed to accommodate time off needed by employees ill with the flu. Prior to the program, seasonal influenza vaccine rates for the 2008-2009 influenza season varied from a low of 20% to a high of 74% (Mean 58%).
Objective: To review the strategies and outcomes of a comprehensive seasonal influenza prevention program to include vaccination and declination rates.
Methods: Concurrent analysis. Consents and declinations were documented in a corporate wide electronic database.
Results: As of November 1, 2009, 140,599 employees were offered the seasonal influenza vaccination, with 135,584 accepting, or 96%. This correlates to clinical employees (98,067 total with 94,530 accepting.) A total of 5,015 employees declined the seasonal influenza vaccine. Reasons for declination were allergy (12%), contraindicated (7%), Fear (4%), pregnant (1%), religion (3%), and no reason given (73%).
Conclusions: The program resulted in a 65% increase in employee vaccine rates. Vaccine rates at unionized facilities were 95%; in non-unionized facilities they were 97%. A comprehensive vaccine strategy which includes vaccine or surgical mask use is successful in increasing vaccination rates.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Patient Safety ...in 3 words?
The following is cut and pasted directly from Abington Memorial Hospital's patient safety & quality web page.
You can go directly to the page here: http://www.amh.org/aboutus/patientsafetyandquality/three-words-video.aspx
You can go directly to the video here: http://amhweb.cachefly.net/Videos/aboutus/3Wordsvideo.swf
You can go directly to the page here: http://www.amh.org/aboutus/patientsafetyandquality/three-words-video.aspx
You can go directly to the video here: http://amhweb.cachefly.net/Videos/aboutus/3Wordsvideo.swf
It only takes three words to tell someone how you feel, what you believe in or what’s important to you. At Abington Memorial Hospital, three words can describe our entire culture — Patient Safety First.
Patient Safety is AMH’s number one priority, and AMH employees are letting their patients, and each other, know just how important that priority is — with just three words.
Inspired by the popular Good Morning America segment, “Your Three Words,” AMH’s Center for Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality made a four-minute long video using the three-word concept. The video
features AMH employees from all departments — clinical, ancillary, support staff — offering their own personal three-word message of patient safety, while promoting safe behavior and teamwork.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Joint Commission Updates Sentinel Event Statistics
The Joint Commission reported today that it has updated its sentinel event statistics through December 31, 2009.
The updated statistics can be found here: http://www.jointcommission.org/NR/rdonlyres/377FF7E7-F565-4D61-9FD2-593CA688135B/0/SE_Stats_31_Dec_2009.pdf
The sentinel events data webpage is here: http://www.jointcommission.org/SentinelEvents/Statistics/
Wrong site surgery is still the leading sentinel event.
The updated statistics can be found here: http://www.jointcommission.org/NR/rdonlyres/377FF7E7-F565-4D61-9FD2-593CA688135B/0/SE_Stats_31_Dec_2009.pdf
The sentinel events data webpage is here: http://www.jointcommission.org/SentinelEvents/Statistics/
Wrong site surgery is still the leading sentinel event.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Joint Commission Releases First Sentinel Event Alert for 2010: Prevention of Maternal Death
By: LMcBride
Whether your facility is accredited by The Joint Commission (TJC) or another accrediting body, there should be an interested in reducing risks of maternal death. The U.S. government’s Healthy People 2010 initiative set a target of 3.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, but according to the CDC’s (TJC, 2010) most recent statistics there are 13.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Further, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) (2008) released disparities of care based on ethnicity for maternal deaths for the year 2005 indicating that if you are non-Hispanic Black woman your rate is 39.2 per 100,000 live births which is three (3) times more than the rate of non-Hispanic White women (11.7 per 100,000 live births) and more than four (4) times the rate among Hispanic women (9.6 per 100,000 live births). TJC (2010) indicates the greatest risk is among women who present with high blood pressure, diabetes and/or obesity.
What can hospitals do to prevent maternal deaths? TJC (2010) has suggested the following actions:
1. Educate physicians and other clinicians who care for women with underlying medical conditions about the additional risks that could be imposed if pregnancy were added; how to discuss these risks with patients; the use of appropriate and acceptable contraception; and pre-conceptual care and counseling. Communicate identified pregnancy risks to all members of the health care delivery team.
2. Identify specific triggers for responding to changes in the mother’s vital signs and clinical condition and develop and use protocols and drills for responding to changes, such as hemorrhage and pre-eclampsia. Use the drills to train staff in the protocols, to refine local protocols, and to identify and fix system problems that would prevent optimal care.
3. Educate emergency room personnel about the possibility that a woman, whatever her presenting symptoms, may be pregnant or may have recently been pregnant. Many maternal deaths occur before the woman is hospitalized or after she delivers and is discharged. These deaths may occur in another hospital, away from the woman’s usual prenatal or obstetric care givers. Knowledge of pregnancy may affect the diagnosis or appropriate treatment.
4. Refer high-risk patients to the care of experienced pre-natal providers with access to a broad range of specialized services.
5. Make pneumatic compression devices available for patients undergoing Cesarean section who are at high risk for pulmonary embolism.
6. Evaluate patients who are at high risk for thromboembolism for low molecular weight heparin for post partum care.
References:
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). (2008). Women’s health USA 2008: Maternal mortality. HRSA website. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). Retrieved January 31, 2010: http://mchb.hrsa.gov/whusa08/hstat/mh/pages/234mm.html
The Joint Commission (TJC). (2010). Issue 44, January 26, 2010: Preventing maternal death. The Joint Commission website. Retrieved January 31, 2010: http://www.jointcommission.org/SentinelEvents/SentinelEventAlert/sea_44.htm
Whether your facility is accredited by The Joint Commission (TJC) or another accrediting body, there should be an interested in reducing risks of maternal death. The U.S. government’s Healthy People 2010 initiative set a target of 3.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, but according to the CDC’s (TJC, 2010) most recent statistics there are 13.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Further, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) (2008) released disparities of care based on ethnicity for maternal deaths for the year 2005 indicating that if you are non-Hispanic Black woman your rate is 39.2 per 100,000 live births which is three (3) times more than the rate of non-Hispanic White women (11.7 per 100,000 live births) and more than four (4) times the rate among Hispanic women (9.6 per 100,000 live births). TJC (2010) indicates the greatest risk is among women who present with high blood pressure, diabetes and/or obesity.
What can hospitals do to prevent maternal deaths? TJC (2010) has suggested the following actions:
1. Educate physicians and other clinicians who care for women with underlying medical conditions about the additional risks that could be imposed if pregnancy were added; how to discuss these risks with patients; the use of appropriate and acceptable contraception; and pre-conceptual care and counseling. Communicate identified pregnancy risks to all members of the health care delivery team.
2. Identify specific triggers for responding to changes in the mother’s vital signs and clinical condition and develop and use protocols and drills for responding to changes, such as hemorrhage and pre-eclampsia. Use the drills to train staff in the protocols, to refine local protocols, and to identify and fix system problems that would prevent optimal care.
3. Educate emergency room personnel about the possibility that a woman, whatever her presenting symptoms, may be pregnant or may have recently been pregnant. Many maternal deaths occur before the woman is hospitalized or after she delivers and is discharged. These deaths may occur in another hospital, away from the woman’s usual prenatal or obstetric care givers. Knowledge of pregnancy may affect the diagnosis or appropriate treatment.
4. Refer high-risk patients to the care of experienced pre-natal providers with access to a broad range of specialized services.
5. Make pneumatic compression devices available for patients undergoing Cesarean section who are at high risk for pulmonary embolism.
6. Evaluate patients who are at high risk for thromboembolism for low molecular weight heparin for post partum care.
References:
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). (2008). Women’s health USA 2008: Maternal mortality. HRSA website. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). Retrieved January 31, 2010: http://mchb.hrsa.gov/whusa08/hstat/mh/pages/234mm.html
The Joint Commission (TJC). (2010). Issue 44, January 26, 2010: Preventing maternal death. The Joint Commission website. Retrieved January 31, 2010: http://www.jointcommission.org/SentinelEvents/SentinelEventAlert/sea_44.htm
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
CMS Announces Indianapolis as site of a New Medicare Demonstration Project
CMS announced today that the Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE) will be a Medicare demonstration project to examine the impact of quality reporting and pay-for-performance.
The press release is pasted below in its entirety with sections relevant to Indiana in Red.
For Immediate release
January 27, 2010
New Medicare Quality Demonstrations in North Carolina, Indiana to Address Quality Improvement Efforts
Two demonstrations comprised of a community-wide health information exchange in Indiana and a consortium of several community care physician networks in North Carolina are being implemented to encourage the delivery of improved quality care to an estimated 130,000 beneficiaries in those states, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The demonstrations are part of the national, five-year Medicare Health Care Quality (MHCQ) demonstration mandated by Congress in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). The Indiana and North Carolina demonstrations will make more effective use of best practice guidelines, encouraging shared decision making between providers and patients, and altering incentives for care delivery.
Each demonstration uses a different approach but each is intended to improve quality of care received by Medicare beneficiaries at less cost to Medicare.
The Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE) demonstration is the first large-scale Medicare study to examine the impact of a multi-payer, quality reporting and improvement, and pay-for-performance program. It is unique among recent Medicare projects because Medicare data will be used by the IHIE, along with clinical and administrative data from other sources, to provide participating physicians with better information on the patients they are treating and to use common quality measures to create incentives to improve the quality and cost of care provided to patients covered by private insurers, employer-sponsored group health plans, Medicare, and Medicaid. IHIE’s program will test whether quality improvement and pay-for-performance initiatives are more effective in a multi-payer environment.
The IHIE project is a community-wide effort involving a coalition of providers (roughly 800) treating the majority of Medicare fee-for-service patients in the Indianapolis area; regardless of the patient’s health status or affiliation with a specific physician group, health system, or insurance type.
“IHIE is uniquely suited to implement and capture health care activities for about 100,000 Indiana Medicare beneficiaries, largely due to a demonstrated proficiency as a regional health information exchange, with a coalition that includes regional employers, public and private payers and local physicians working together to treat patients with a more complete picture of common quality measures and the overall health care being provided, or not being provided, to people with Medicare benefits,” said J. Marc Overhage, IHIE president and chief executive officer.”
“Under the current health care system, patient data is often inconsistent and housed in different systems making it less useful to physicians,” said CMS Acting Administrator Charlene Frizzera. “As quality measures and incentives vary across payment and delivery systems, IHIE and subsequent demonstrations will work to combine fragmented data and standardize quality reporting and payments for greater efficiency for health care providers to improve quality and cost of care for their patients.”
The North Carolina Community Care Networks (NC-CCN) demonstration will extend the ‘medical home’ concept to low-income Medicare beneficiaries, those eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. NC-CCN consisting of eight regional health care networks in several North Carolina counties combines community-based care coordination and health information technology to support more effective care management.
Care for Medicare and Medicaid dually eligible beneficiaries can be fragmented even when care for Medicaid eligibles is coordinated well. Often states, which utilize effective care management programs in their Medicaid programs, do not extend them to those eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. In this demonstration the concepts which have worked well in the past will be extended to Medicare. Eventually the NC-CCN intends to extend their program to those only eligible for Medicare.
The networks, consisting of community physicians, hospitals, health departments, and other community organizations will serve as the medical home or primary source of care for dual eligible beneficiaries. Each network employs clinical care coordinators who work with practices to plan and coordinate care for all of the patients in the medical home. The networks will also measure care performance through quality measurement and implement performance incentives for effective care.
Both CMS demonstrations allow the organizations to share in a portion of Medicare savings achieved once quality of care and cost objectives are met. The demonstrations are described at the following CMS Web site: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/demoprojectsevalrpts/md/itemdetail.asp?filterType=none&filterByDID=-99&sortByDID=3&sortOrder=descending&itemID=CMS023618&intNumPerPage=10
The press release is pasted below in its entirety with sections relevant to Indiana in Red.
For Immediate release
January 27, 2010
New Medicare Quality Demonstrations in North Carolina, Indiana to Address Quality Improvement Efforts
Two demonstrations comprised of a community-wide health information exchange in Indiana and a consortium of several community care physician networks in North Carolina are being implemented to encourage the delivery of improved quality care to an estimated 130,000 beneficiaries in those states, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The demonstrations are part of the national, five-year Medicare Health Care Quality (MHCQ) demonstration mandated by Congress in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). The Indiana and North Carolina demonstrations will make more effective use of best practice guidelines, encouraging shared decision making between providers and patients, and altering incentives for care delivery.
Each demonstration uses a different approach but each is intended to improve quality of care received by Medicare beneficiaries at less cost to Medicare.
The Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE) demonstration is the first large-scale Medicare study to examine the impact of a multi-payer, quality reporting and improvement, and pay-for-performance program. It is unique among recent Medicare projects because Medicare data will be used by the IHIE, along with clinical and administrative data from other sources, to provide participating physicians with better information on the patients they are treating and to use common quality measures to create incentives to improve the quality and cost of care provided to patients covered by private insurers, employer-sponsored group health plans, Medicare, and Medicaid. IHIE’s program will test whether quality improvement and pay-for-performance initiatives are more effective in a multi-payer environment.
The IHIE project is a community-wide effort involving a coalition of providers (roughly 800) treating the majority of Medicare fee-for-service patients in the Indianapolis area; regardless of the patient’s health status or affiliation with a specific physician group, health system, or insurance type.
“IHIE is uniquely suited to implement and capture health care activities for about 100,000 Indiana Medicare beneficiaries, largely due to a demonstrated proficiency as a regional health information exchange, with a coalition that includes regional employers, public and private payers and local physicians working together to treat patients with a more complete picture of common quality measures and the overall health care being provided, or not being provided, to people with Medicare benefits,” said J. Marc Overhage, IHIE president and chief executive officer.”
“Under the current health care system, patient data is often inconsistent and housed in different systems making it less useful to physicians,” said CMS Acting Administrator Charlene Frizzera. “As quality measures and incentives vary across payment and delivery systems, IHIE and subsequent demonstrations will work to combine fragmented data and standardize quality reporting and payments for greater efficiency for health care providers to improve quality and cost of care for their patients.”
The North Carolina Community Care Networks (NC-CCN) demonstration will extend the ‘medical home’ concept to low-income Medicare beneficiaries, those eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. NC-CCN consisting of eight regional health care networks in several North Carolina counties combines community-based care coordination and health information technology to support more effective care management.
Care for Medicare and Medicaid dually eligible beneficiaries can be fragmented even when care for Medicaid eligibles is coordinated well. Often states, which utilize effective care management programs in their Medicaid programs, do not extend them to those eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. In this demonstration the concepts which have worked well in the past will be extended to Medicare. Eventually the NC-CCN intends to extend their program to those only eligible for Medicare.
The networks, consisting of community physicians, hospitals, health departments, and other community organizations will serve as the medical home or primary source of care for dual eligible beneficiaries. Each network employs clinical care coordinators who work with practices to plan and coordinate care for all of the patients in the medical home. The networks will also measure care performance through quality measurement and implement performance incentives for effective care.
Both CMS demonstrations allow the organizations to share in a portion of Medicare savings achieved once quality of care and cost objectives are met. The demonstrations are described at the following CMS Web site: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/demoprojectsevalrpts/md/itemdetail.asp?filterType=none&filterByDID=-99&sortByDID=3&sortOrder=descending&itemID=CMS023618&intNumPerPage=10
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Discharge Instructions vs Hospital Readmission Rates
The Dec 31, 2009 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine published an article titled "Public Reporting of Discharge Planning and Rates of Readmission".
The abstract can be found here: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/361/27/2637
The pdf is currently available here: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/361/27/2637.pdf
Excerpts of the abstract is cut and pasted below with items of interest to healthcare quality professionals in red.
------------------------
Public Reporting of Discharge Planning and Rates of Readmissions
Ashish K. Jha, M.D., M.P.H., E. John Orav, Ph.D., and Arnold M. Epstein, M.D.
Background A reduction in hospital readmissions may improve quality and reduce costs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has initiated a national effort to measure and publicly report on the conduct of discharge planning. We know little about how U.S. hospitals perform on the current discharge metrics, the factors that underlie better performance, and whether better performance is related to lower readmission rates.
Methods We examined hospital performance on the basis of two measures of discharge planning: the adequacy of documentation in the chart that discharge instructions were provided to patients with congestive heart failure, and patient-reported experiences with discharge planning. We examined the association between performance on these measures and rates of readmission for congestive heart failure and pneumonia.
Results We found a weak correlation in performance between the two discharge measures. We found no association between performance on the chart-based measure and readmission rates among patients with congestive heart failure (readmission rates among hospitals performing in the highest quartile vs. the lowest quartile), and only a very modest association between performance on the patient-reported measure and readmission rates for congestive heart failure (readmission rates among hospitals performing in the highest quartile vs. the lowest quartile), and pneumonia.
Conclusions Our findings suggest that current efforts to collect and publicly report data on discharge planning are unlikely to yield large reductions in unnecessary readmissions.
---------------------------------
Interestingly, within the article, Indiana was referenced a few times:
- Munster, Indiana, was identified as having one of the highest readmission rates for CHF in the nation (29.4%).
- Lafayette, Indiana, was identified as having one of the lowest readmission rates for CHF in the nation (15.2%)
- South Bend, Indiana, was identifed as having one of the lowest pneumonia readmission rates in the nation (10.9%)
AHRQ: 10 Patient Safety Tips for Hospitals
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently updated their publication titled "10 Patient Safety Tips for Hospitals".
The 10 Tips are:
The 10 Tips are:
- Prevent central line-associated blood stream infections.
- Re-engineer hospital discharges.
- Prevent venous thromboembolism.
- Educate patients about using blood thinners safely.
- Limit shift durations for medical residents and other hospital staff if possible.
- Consider working with a Patient Safety Organization.
- Use good hospital design principles.
- Measure your hospital's patient safety culture.
- Build better teams and rapid response systems.
- Insert chest tubes safely.
The AHRQ publications contains links to resources supporting each of the above tips. The publication can be found here: http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/10tips.pdf.
The home page of the publication is here: http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/10tips.htm
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Indiana HCAHPS Performance - Patient's Overall Rating of Hospital
The following is the most recent list of Indiana hospitals sorted by the percent of patients rating the hospital 9 or 10 on the HCAHPS question about overall care. This is derrived from the hospital compare database which was updated Dec 2009.
Percentage of patients who gave rating of 9 or 10 (high)
% Hospital
91 WOMEN'S HOSPITAL THE(NEWBURGH)
89 ST VINCENT HEART CENTER OF INDIANA LLC(INDIANAPOLIS)
87 INDIANA ORTHOPAEDIC HOSPITAL LLC(INDIANAPOLIS)
83 MONROE HOSPITAL(BLOOMINGTON)
82 INDIANA HEART HOSPITAL, THE(INDIANAPOLIS)
82 CLARIAN NORTH MEDICAL CENTER(CARMEL)
81 ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL MOORESVILLE(MOORESVILLE)
79 DUPONT HOSPITAL LLC(FORT WAYNE)
79 DEKALB MEMORIAL HOSPITAL INC(AUBURN)
78 PARKVIEW HUNTINGTON HOSPITAL(HUNTINGTON)
78 ORTHOPAEDIC HOSPITAL AT PARKVIEW NORTH LLC(FORT WAYNE)
78 ST VINCENT CARMEL HOSPITAL INC(CARMEL)
77 CLARIAN WEST MEDICAL CENTER(AVON)
77 HENDRICKS REGIONAL HEALTH(DANVILLE)
77 PARKVIEW HOSPITAL(FORT WAYNE)
77 MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CARE CENTER(JASPER)
76 WITHAM HEALTH SERVICES(LEBANON)
76 TIPTON HOSPITAL(TIPTON)
76 PARKVIEW NOBLE HOSPITAL(KENDALLVILLE)
76 PARKVIEW LAGRANGE HOSPITAL(LAGRANGE)
76 SCHNECK MEDICAL CENTER(SEYMOUR)
75 PARKVIEW WHITLEY HOSPITAL(COLUMBIA CITY)
75 WABASH COUNTY HOSPITAL(WABASH)
75 GOSHEN GENERAL HOSPITAL(GOSHEN)
75 FRANCISCAN PHYSICIANS HOSPITAL LLC(MUNSTER)
75 DUNN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(BEDFORD)
74 LUTHERAN HOSPITAL OF INDIANA(FORT WAYNE)
74 GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL(VINCENNES)
74 ST VINCENT WILLIAMSPORT HOSPITAL INC(WILLIAMSPORT)
74 MARGARET MARY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL INC(BATESVILLE)
74 RIVERVIEW HOSPITAL(NOBLESVILLE)
74 ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CENTERS-INDIANAPOLI(INDIANAPOLIS)
74 CLARK MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(JEFFERSONVILLE)
73 ST MARY MEDICAL CENTER INC(HOBART)
73 MAJOR HOSPITAL(SHELBYVILLE)
73 ST MARY'S MEDICAL CENTER OF EVANSVILLE INC(EVANSVILLE)
73 MEMORIAL HOSPITAL OF SOUTH BEND(SOUTH BEND)
73 SAINT JOHN'S HEALTH SYSTEM(ANDERSON)
72 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL(MUNSTER)
72 ST VINCENT HOSPITAL & HEALTH SERVICES(INDIANAPOLIS)
72 JAY COUNTY HOSPITAL(PORTLAND)
72 BLUFFTON REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER(BLUFFTON)
71 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL OF ANDERSON AND MADISON COUNTY(ANDERSON)
71 COLUMBUS REGIONAL HOSPITAL(COLUMBUS)
71 HARRISON COUNTY HOSPITAL(CORYDON)
71 FLOYD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICES(NEW ALBANY)
70 BEDFORD REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER(BEDFORD)
70 HENRY COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(NEW CASTLE)
70 ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CENTERS(BEECH GROVE)
69 HANCOCK REGIONAL HOSPITAL(GREENFIELD)
69 ST JOSEPH HOSPITAL & HEALTH CENTER INC(KOKOMO)
69 CAMERON MEMORIAL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL INC(ANGOLA)
69 ST VINCENT FRANKFORT HOSPITAL INC(FRANKFORT)
69 ST VINCENT MERCY HOSPITAL(ELWOOD)
69 ST ANTHONY(CROWN POINT)
******69 Indiana State Average******
68 SCOTT COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AKA SCOTT MEMORIAL(SCOTTSBURG)
68 SAINT JOSEPH'S REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER - PLYMOUTH(PLYMOUTH)
68 ST CATHERINE HOSPITAL INC(EAST CHICAGO)
68 LAPORTE HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICES(LA PORTE)
68 WESTVIEW HOSPITAL(INDIANAPOLIS)
68 KING'S DAUGHTERS' HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICES,THE(MADISON)
67 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL SOUTH(INDIANAPOLIS)
67 DECATUR COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(GREENSBURG)
67 MARION GENERAL HOSPITAL(MARION)
67 DAVIESS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL(WASHINGTON)
66 SULLIVAN COUNTY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL(SULLIVAN)
66 ST JOSEPH HOSPITAL(FORT WAYNE)
66 REID HOSPITAL & HEALTH CARE SERVICES INC(RICHMOND)
66 DUKES MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(PERU)
66 SAINT JOSEPH REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER - SOUTH BEND(SOUTH BEND)
66 MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(LOGANSPORT)
66 DEACONESS HOSPITAL INC(EVANSVILLE)
66 JOHNSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(FRANKLIN)
******65 National Average******
65 HOWARD REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM(KOKOMO)
65 ST VINCENT JENNINGS HOSPITAL INC(NORTH VERNON)
65 GIBSON GENERAL HOSPITAL(PRINCETON)
65 CLARIAN HEALTH PARTNERS INC D/B/A METHODIST IU RIL(INDIANAPOLIS)
65 BALL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL INC(MUNCIE)
65 ST VINCENT CLAY HOSPITAL INC(BRAZIL)
64 ELKHART GENERAL HOSPITAL(ELKHART)
64 BLOOMINGTON HOSPITAL(BLOOMINGTON)
64 ST MARGARET MERCY HEALTHCARE CENTERS(DYER)
64 WILLIAM N WISHARD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(INDIANAPOLIS)
64 UNION HOSPITAL CLINTON(CLINTON)
63 KOSCIUSKO COMMUNITY HOSPITAL(WARSAW)
63 DEARBORN COUNTY HOSPITAL(LAWRENCEBURG)
63 FAYETTE REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM(CONNERSVILLE)
63 PORTER, VALPARAISO HOSPITAL(VALPARAISO)
62 ST ANTHONY MEMORIAL HEALTH CENTERS(MICHIGAN CITY)
62 UNION HOSPITAL, INC(TERRE HAUTE)
61 COMMUNITY HOSPITALS OF INDIANA INC (EAST)(INDIANAPOLIS)
61 ST ELIZABETH CENTRAL(LAFAYETTE)
60 TERRE HAUTE REGIONAL HOSPITAL(TERRE HAUTE)
60 ST CLARE MEDICAL CENTER(CRAWFORDSVILLE)
59 MORGAN HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER(MARTINSVILLE)
56 ST MARGARET MERCY HEALTHCARE CENTERS(HAMMOND)
56 STARKE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(KNOX)
55 ST MARY'S WARRICK HOSPITAL INC(BOONVILLE)
55 LAFAYETTE HOME HOSPITAL(LAFAYETTE)
54 ST VINCENT RANDOLPH HOSPITAL INC(WINCHESTER)
44 METHODIST HOSPITALS, INC(GARY)
39 SAINT CATHERINE REGIONAL HOSPITAL(CHARLESTOWN)
Percentage of patients who gave rating of 9 or 10 (high)
% Hospital
91 WOMEN'S HOSPITAL THE(NEWBURGH)
89 ST VINCENT HEART CENTER OF INDIANA LLC(INDIANAPOLIS)
87 INDIANA ORTHOPAEDIC HOSPITAL LLC(INDIANAPOLIS)
83 MONROE HOSPITAL(BLOOMINGTON)
82 INDIANA HEART HOSPITAL, THE(INDIANAPOLIS)
82 CLARIAN NORTH MEDICAL CENTER(CARMEL)
81 ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL MOORESVILLE(MOORESVILLE)
79 DUPONT HOSPITAL LLC(FORT WAYNE)
79 DEKALB MEMORIAL HOSPITAL INC(AUBURN)
78 PARKVIEW HUNTINGTON HOSPITAL(HUNTINGTON)
78 ORTHOPAEDIC HOSPITAL AT PARKVIEW NORTH LLC(FORT WAYNE)
78 ST VINCENT CARMEL HOSPITAL INC(CARMEL)
77 CLARIAN WEST MEDICAL CENTER(AVON)
77 HENDRICKS REGIONAL HEALTH(DANVILLE)
77 PARKVIEW HOSPITAL(FORT WAYNE)
77 MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CARE CENTER(JASPER)
76 WITHAM HEALTH SERVICES(LEBANON)
76 TIPTON HOSPITAL(TIPTON)
76 PARKVIEW NOBLE HOSPITAL(KENDALLVILLE)
76 PARKVIEW LAGRANGE HOSPITAL(LAGRANGE)
76 SCHNECK MEDICAL CENTER(SEYMOUR)
75 PARKVIEW WHITLEY HOSPITAL(COLUMBIA CITY)
75 WABASH COUNTY HOSPITAL(WABASH)
75 GOSHEN GENERAL HOSPITAL(GOSHEN)
75 FRANCISCAN PHYSICIANS HOSPITAL LLC(MUNSTER)
75 DUNN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(BEDFORD)
74 LUTHERAN HOSPITAL OF INDIANA(FORT WAYNE)
74 GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL(VINCENNES)
74 ST VINCENT WILLIAMSPORT HOSPITAL INC(WILLIAMSPORT)
74 MARGARET MARY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL INC(BATESVILLE)
74 RIVERVIEW HOSPITAL(NOBLESVILLE)
74 ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CENTERS-INDIANAPOLI(INDIANAPOLIS)
74 CLARK MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(JEFFERSONVILLE)
73 ST MARY MEDICAL CENTER INC(HOBART)
73 MAJOR HOSPITAL(SHELBYVILLE)
73 ST MARY'S MEDICAL CENTER OF EVANSVILLE INC(EVANSVILLE)
73 MEMORIAL HOSPITAL OF SOUTH BEND(SOUTH BEND)
73 SAINT JOHN'S HEALTH SYSTEM(ANDERSON)
72 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL(MUNSTER)
72 ST VINCENT HOSPITAL & HEALTH SERVICES(INDIANAPOLIS)
72 JAY COUNTY HOSPITAL(PORTLAND)
72 BLUFFTON REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER(BLUFFTON)
71 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL OF ANDERSON AND MADISON COUNTY(ANDERSON)
71 COLUMBUS REGIONAL HOSPITAL(COLUMBUS)
71 HARRISON COUNTY HOSPITAL(CORYDON)
71 FLOYD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICES(NEW ALBANY)
70 BEDFORD REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER(BEDFORD)
70 HENRY COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(NEW CASTLE)
70 ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CENTERS(BEECH GROVE)
69 HANCOCK REGIONAL HOSPITAL(GREENFIELD)
69 ST JOSEPH HOSPITAL & HEALTH CENTER INC(KOKOMO)
69 CAMERON MEMORIAL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL INC(ANGOLA)
69 ST VINCENT FRANKFORT HOSPITAL INC(FRANKFORT)
69 ST VINCENT MERCY HOSPITAL(ELWOOD)
69 ST ANTHONY(CROWN POINT)
******69 Indiana State Average******
68 SCOTT COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AKA SCOTT MEMORIAL(SCOTTSBURG)
68 SAINT JOSEPH'S REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER - PLYMOUTH(PLYMOUTH)
68 ST CATHERINE HOSPITAL INC(EAST CHICAGO)
68 LAPORTE HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICES(LA PORTE)
68 WESTVIEW HOSPITAL(INDIANAPOLIS)
68 KING'S DAUGHTERS' HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICES,THE(MADISON)
67 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL SOUTH(INDIANAPOLIS)
67 DECATUR COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(GREENSBURG)
67 MARION GENERAL HOSPITAL(MARION)
67 DAVIESS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL(WASHINGTON)
66 SULLIVAN COUNTY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL(SULLIVAN)
66 ST JOSEPH HOSPITAL(FORT WAYNE)
66 REID HOSPITAL & HEALTH CARE SERVICES INC(RICHMOND)
66 DUKES MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(PERU)
66 SAINT JOSEPH REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER - SOUTH BEND(SOUTH BEND)
66 MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(LOGANSPORT)
66 DEACONESS HOSPITAL INC(EVANSVILLE)
66 JOHNSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(FRANKLIN)
******65 National Average******
65 HOWARD REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM(KOKOMO)
65 ST VINCENT JENNINGS HOSPITAL INC(NORTH VERNON)
65 GIBSON GENERAL HOSPITAL(PRINCETON)
65 CLARIAN HEALTH PARTNERS INC D/B/A METHODIST IU RIL(INDIANAPOLIS)
65 BALL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL INC(MUNCIE)
65 ST VINCENT CLAY HOSPITAL INC(BRAZIL)
64 ELKHART GENERAL HOSPITAL(ELKHART)
64 BLOOMINGTON HOSPITAL(BLOOMINGTON)
64 ST MARGARET MERCY HEALTHCARE CENTERS(DYER)
64 WILLIAM N WISHARD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(INDIANAPOLIS)
64 UNION HOSPITAL CLINTON(CLINTON)
63 KOSCIUSKO COMMUNITY HOSPITAL(WARSAW)
63 DEARBORN COUNTY HOSPITAL(LAWRENCEBURG)
63 FAYETTE REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM(CONNERSVILLE)
63 PORTER, VALPARAISO HOSPITAL(VALPARAISO)
62 ST ANTHONY MEMORIAL HEALTH CENTERS(MICHIGAN CITY)
62 UNION HOSPITAL, INC(TERRE HAUTE)
61 COMMUNITY HOSPITALS OF INDIANA INC (EAST)(INDIANAPOLIS)
61 ST ELIZABETH CENTRAL(LAFAYETTE)
60 TERRE HAUTE REGIONAL HOSPITAL(TERRE HAUTE)
60 ST CLARE MEDICAL CENTER(CRAWFORDSVILLE)
59 MORGAN HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER(MARTINSVILLE)
56 ST MARGARET MERCY HEALTHCARE CENTERS(HAMMOND)
56 STARKE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL(KNOX)
55 ST MARY'S WARRICK HOSPITAL INC(BOONVILLE)
55 LAFAYETTE HOME HOSPITAL(LAFAYETTE)
54 ST VINCENT RANDOLPH HOSPITAL INC(WINCHESTER)
44 METHODIST HOSPITALS, INC(GARY)
39 SAINT CATHERINE REGIONAL HOSPITAL(CHARLESTOWN)
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
New RAC Rules for Document Request Limits
Yesterday, CMS updated its rules regarding limits on the number of additional documentation requests. Excerpts from the document has been cut and pasted below.
You can download the original document at:http://www.cms.hhs.gov/RAC/Downloads/DRGvalidationADRlimitforFY2010.pdf
You can find the RAC homepage at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/RAC/
Additional Documentation Limits for FY 2010 for DRG Validation
as of December 1, 2009 (Excerpts)
You can download the original document at:http://www.cms.hhs.gov/RAC/Downloads/DRGvalidationADRlimitforFY2010.pdf
You can find the RAC homepage at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/RAC/
Additional Documentation Limits for FY 2010 for DRG Validation
as of December 1, 2009 (Excerpts)
- CMS has modified the additional documentation request limits for the RAC program in FY 2010. These limits will be set by each RAC (CMS) on an annual basis to establish a cap per campus on the maximum number of medical records that may be requested per 45-day period.
- A campus unit (defined below) may consist of one or more separate facilities/practices under a single organizational umbrella; each limit will be based on that unit’s prior fiscal year Medicare claims volume.
- Limits will be based on the servicing provider/supplier’s Tax Identification Number (TIN) and the first three positions of the ZIP code where they are physically located.
- Limits will be set at 1% of all claims submitted for the previous calendar year (2008), divided into eight periods (45 days). Although the RACs may go more than 45 days between record requests, in no case shall they make requests more frequently than every 45 days. A provider’s limit will be applied across all claim types, including professional services. Note: FY 2010 limits are based on submitted claims, irrespective of paid/denied status and/or individual lines, although interim/final bills and RAPs/final claims shall be considered as a unit.
- While respecting a provider’s overall limit, the RAC may exercise discretion in the exact composition of an additional documentation request. For example, the RAC may request inpatient records up to the full limit even though the provider’s inpatient business may only be a small portion of their total claim volume.
- Two caps will exist in FY 2010: Through March 2010, the cap will remain at 200 additional documentation requests per 45 days for all providers/suppliers. However, from April through September 2010, providers/suppliers who bill in excess of 100,000 claims to Medicare (per TIN, across all claims processing contractors) will have a cap of 300 additional documentation requests per campus unit, per 45 days.
- In addition, in FY 2010 CMS will allow the RACs to request permission to exceed the cap. Permission to exceed the cap cannot be requested in the first six (6) months of the fiscal year. The expanded cap will not be automatic; the RACs must request approval from CMS on a case-by-case basis and affected providers will be notified prior to receiving additional requests.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Leadership in Healthcare Organizations
Yesterday the Joint Commission posted this monograph from the Governance Institute regarding healthcare organization leadership. You can download the 44 page white paper here.
The paper is divided into the following chapters:
Part 1 - Introduction and Background
Chapter 1: Leaders and Systems
Chapter 2: What Leaders Do
Part 2 - Joint Commission Leadership Standards
Chapter 3: Leadership Structure
Chapter 4. Leadership Relationships
Chapter 5. Hospital Culture and System Performance
Chapter 6. Leadership Operations
The paper is divided into the following chapters:
Part 1 - Introduction and Background
Chapter 1: Leaders and Systems
Chapter 2: What Leaders Do
Part 2 - Joint Commission Leadership Standards
Chapter 3: Leadership Structure
Chapter 4. Leadership Relationships
Chapter 5. Hospital Culture and System Performance
Chapter 6. Leadership Operations
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Every quarter, along with updating the hospital compare website, CMS also makes the flat files available for download. With the flat files, anyone can compare any combination of CMS performance measures. Below is the performance of HF-1 for all Indiana hospitals that submitted data.
Note the following:
HF-1 n Hospital Name
100 303 PORTER, VALPARAISO HOSPITAL
100 60 MORGAN HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER
100 41 BLUFFTON REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
100 22 DUPONT HOSPITAL LLC
100 9 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL OF BREMEN INC
100 38 ST VINCENT WILLIAMSPORT HOSPITAL INC
100 33 TIPTON HOSPITAL
100 27 JASPER COUNTY HOSPITAL
100 25 ST MARY'S WARRICK HOSPITAL INC
99 250 ST MARGARET MERCY HEALTHCARE CENTERS
99 327 ST CATHERINE HOSPITAL INC
99 169 ST JOSEPH HOSPITAL
99 101 RIVERVIEW HOSPITAL
99 296 INDIANA HEART HOSPITAL, THE
98 102 HOWARD REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM
97 252 ST MARY MEDICAL CENTER INC
96 251 CLARK MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
96 49 MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
96 191 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL OF ANDERSON AND MADISON COUNTY
95 751 CLARIAN HEALTH PARTNERS INC D/B/A METHODIST IUU
95 111 KING'S DAUGHTERS' HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICES,THE
95 188 ST MARGARET MERCY HEALTHCARE CENTERS
95 42 DUNN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
94 80 JOHNSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
94 358 WILLIAM N WISHARD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
94 98 GOSHEN GENERAL HOSPITAL
94 49 HENRY COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
94 291 REID HOSPITAL & HEALTH CARE SERVICES INC
94 363 BALL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL INC
92 218 GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL
92 64 GREENE COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL
91 180 ST ANTHONY MEMORIAL HEALTH CENTERS
91 264 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
91 91 CLARIAN WEST MEDICAL CENTER
91 23 MONROE HOSPITAL
90 331 ST MARY'S MEDICAL CENTER OF EVANSVILLE INC
90 52 KOSCIUSKO COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
90 10 WABASH COUNTY HOSPITAL
89 160 MARION GENERAL HOSPITAL
89 55 DECATUR COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
88 267 FLOYD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
88 319 MEMORIAL HOSPITAL OF SOUTH BEND
88 56 WITHAM HEALTH SERVICES
88 26 ST VINCENT FRANKFORT HOSPITAL INC
87 231 METHODIST HOSPITALS, INC
87 223 TERRE HAUTE REGIONAL HOSPITAL
87 45 PARKVIEW HUNTINGTON HOSPITAL
87 54 MAJOR HOSPITAL
85 119 HENDRICKS REGIONAL HEALTH
85 13 GIBSON GENERAL HOSPITAL
85 33 ADAMS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
84 318 ST VINCENT HEART CENTER OF INDIANA LLC
84 38 DUKES MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
82 131 COLUMBUS REGIONAL HOSPITAL
82 55 WESTVIEW HOSPITAL
81 412 UNION HOSPITAL, INC
81 37 DEKALB MEMORIAL HOSPITAL INC
81 42 SCOTT COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AKA SCOTT MEMORIAL
80 185 BLOOMINGTON HOSPITAL
80 258 SAINT JOSEPH REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER - SOUTH BEND
80 465 LUTHERAN HOSPITAL OF INDIANA
80 25 CAMERON MEMORIAL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL INC
79 19 WHITE COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
78 153 LAPORTE HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
78 67 SCHNECK MEDICAL CENTER
76 46 SAINT JOSEPH'S REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER - PLYMOUTH
76 144 SAINT JOHN'S HEALTH SYSTEM
74 563 DEACONESS HOSPITAL INC
74 31 ST VINCENT CARMEL HOSPITAL INC
73 210 ST ELIZABETH CENTRAL
73 56 ST CLARE MEDICAL CENTER
73 33 PERRY COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
72 576 ST VINCENT HOSPITAL & HEALTH SERVICES
72 18 PARKVIEW WHITLEY HOSPITAL
72 36 SAINT CATHERINE REGIONAL HOSPITAL
72 40 BEDFORD REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
71 245 COMMUNITY HOSPITALS OF INDIANA INC (EAST)
70 80 ST JOSEPH HOSPITAL & HEALTH CENTER INC
70 100 ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CENTERS
70 47 CLARIAN NORTH MEDICAL CENTER
69 227 PARKVIEW HOSPITAL
69 32 MARGARET MARY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL INC
68 44 PARKVIEW LAGRANGE HOSPITAL
67 420 ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CENTERS-INDIANAPOLI
66 228 ST ANTHONY MEDICAL CENTER OF CROWN POINT
64 164 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL SOUTH
63 27 DAVIESS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
60 53 LAFAYETTE HOME HOSPITAL
60 65 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL NORTH
59 29 SULLIVAN COUNTY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
59 27 HARRISON COUNTY HOSPITAL
56 27 STARKE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
52 98 DEARBORN COUNTY HOSPITAL
52 149 MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CARE CENTER
50 36 WEST CENTRAL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
50 12 PUTNAM COUNTY HOSPITAL
48 62 FRANCISCAN PHYSICIANS HOSPITAL LLC
48 21 ST VINCENT CLAY HOSPITAL INC
45 304 ELKHART GENERAL HOSPITAL
42 86 HANCOCK REGIONAL HOSPITAL
41 46 PARKVIEW NOBLE HOSPITAL
41 44 ST VINCENT RANDOLPH HOSPITAL INC
34 90 FAYETTE REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM
33 21 PINNACLE HOSPITAL
25 4 ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL MOORESVILLE
23 13 JAY COUNTY HOSPITAL
11 9 ST VINCENT MERCY HOSPITAL
10 10 ST VINCENT JENNINGS HOSPITAL INC
Note the following:
- Caution when looking at Hospitals with n<=25
- National Top 10% of hospitals submitting data was 99%
- Indiana Average of hospitals submitting data was 77%
- National Average of hospitals submitting data was 76%
- This is based on data submitted to CMS from Jan 08 to Dec 08
- Some hospitals sampled. Other Hospitals reported on all eligible patients
HF-1 n Hospital Name
100 303 PORTER, VALPARAISO HOSPITAL
100 60 MORGAN HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER
100 41 BLUFFTON REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
100 22 DUPONT HOSPITAL LLC
100 9 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL OF BREMEN INC
100 38 ST VINCENT WILLIAMSPORT HOSPITAL INC
100 33 TIPTON HOSPITAL
100 27 JASPER COUNTY HOSPITAL
100 25 ST MARY'S WARRICK HOSPITAL INC
99 250 ST MARGARET MERCY HEALTHCARE CENTERS
99 327 ST CATHERINE HOSPITAL INC
99 169 ST JOSEPH HOSPITAL
99 101 RIVERVIEW HOSPITAL
99 296 INDIANA HEART HOSPITAL, THE
98 102 HOWARD REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM
97 252 ST MARY MEDICAL CENTER INC
96 251 CLARK MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
96 49 MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
96 191 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL OF ANDERSON AND MADISON COUNTY
95 751 CLARIAN HEALTH PARTNERS INC D/B/A METHODIST IUU
95 111 KING'S DAUGHTERS' HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICES,THE
95 188 ST MARGARET MERCY HEALTHCARE CENTERS
95 42 DUNN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
94 80 JOHNSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
94 358 WILLIAM N WISHARD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
94 98 GOSHEN GENERAL HOSPITAL
94 49 HENRY COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
94 291 REID HOSPITAL & HEALTH CARE SERVICES INC
94 363 BALL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL INC
92 218 GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL
92 64 GREENE COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL
91 180 ST ANTHONY MEMORIAL HEALTH CENTERS
91 264 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
91 91 CLARIAN WEST MEDICAL CENTER
91 23 MONROE HOSPITAL
90 331 ST MARY'S MEDICAL CENTER OF EVANSVILLE INC
90 52 KOSCIUSKO COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
90 10 WABASH COUNTY HOSPITAL
89 160 MARION GENERAL HOSPITAL
89 55 DECATUR COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
88 267 FLOYD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
88 319 MEMORIAL HOSPITAL OF SOUTH BEND
88 56 WITHAM HEALTH SERVICES
88 26 ST VINCENT FRANKFORT HOSPITAL INC
87 231 METHODIST HOSPITALS, INC
87 223 TERRE HAUTE REGIONAL HOSPITAL
87 45 PARKVIEW HUNTINGTON HOSPITAL
87 54 MAJOR HOSPITAL
85 119 HENDRICKS REGIONAL HEALTH
85 13 GIBSON GENERAL HOSPITAL
85 33 ADAMS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
84 318 ST VINCENT HEART CENTER OF INDIANA LLC
84 38 DUKES MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
82 131 COLUMBUS REGIONAL HOSPITAL
82 55 WESTVIEW HOSPITAL
81 412 UNION HOSPITAL, INC
81 37 DEKALB MEMORIAL HOSPITAL INC
81 42 SCOTT COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AKA SCOTT MEMORIAL
80 185 BLOOMINGTON HOSPITAL
80 258 SAINT JOSEPH REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER - SOUTH BEND
80 465 LUTHERAN HOSPITAL OF INDIANA
80 25 CAMERON MEMORIAL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL INC
79 19 WHITE COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
78 153 LAPORTE HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
78 67 SCHNECK MEDICAL CENTER
76 46 SAINT JOSEPH'S REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER - PLYMOUTH
76 144 SAINT JOHN'S HEALTH SYSTEM
74 563 DEACONESS HOSPITAL INC
74 31 ST VINCENT CARMEL HOSPITAL INC
73 210 ST ELIZABETH CENTRAL
73 56 ST CLARE MEDICAL CENTER
73 33 PERRY COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
72 576 ST VINCENT HOSPITAL & HEALTH SERVICES
72 18 PARKVIEW WHITLEY HOSPITAL
72 36 SAINT CATHERINE REGIONAL HOSPITAL
72 40 BEDFORD REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
71 245 COMMUNITY HOSPITALS OF INDIANA INC (EAST)
70 80 ST JOSEPH HOSPITAL & HEALTH CENTER INC
70 100 ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CENTERS
70 47 CLARIAN NORTH MEDICAL CENTER
69 227 PARKVIEW HOSPITAL
69 32 MARGARET MARY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL INC
68 44 PARKVIEW LAGRANGE HOSPITAL
67 420 ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CENTERS-INDIANAPOLI
66 228 ST ANTHONY MEDICAL CENTER OF CROWN POINT
64 164 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL SOUTH
63 27 DAVIESS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
60 53 LAFAYETTE HOME HOSPITAL
60 65 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL NORTH
59 29 SULLIVAN COUNTY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
59 27 HARRISON COUNTY HOSPITAL
56 27 STARKE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
52 98 DEARBORN COUNTY HOSPITAL
52 149 MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CARE CENTER
50 36 WEST CENTRAL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
50 12 PUTNAM COUNTY HOSPITAL
48 62 FRANCISCAN PHYSICIANS HOSPITAL LLC
48 21 ST VINCENT CLAY HOSPITAL INC
45 304 ELKHART GENERAL HOSPITAL
42 86 HANCOCK REGIONAL HOSPITAL
41 46 PARKVIEW NOBLE HOSPITAL
41 44 ST VINCENT RANDOLPH HOSPITAL INC
34 90 FAYETTE REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM
33 21 PINNACLE HOSPITAL
25 4 ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL MOORESVILLE
23 13 JAY COUNTY HOSPITAL
11 9 ST VINCENT MERCY HOSPITAL
10 10 ST VINCENT JENNINGS HOSPITAL INC
Commonwealth Fund Highlights Accomplishments of Reid Hospital
Last week the Commonwealth Fund highlighted the SCIP achievements of Reid Hospital (Richmond, IN) by publishing a case study on both the Commonwealth Fund's website
as well as their http://www.whynotthebest.org/ website.
The case study can be download here: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Case%20Study/2009/Nov/1338_Edwards_Reid_Hospital_case_study.pdf
The following is the summary section of the case study with sections of interest in red.
Reid Hospital and Health Care Services is a high performer on process-of-care, or “core” measures. The measures, developed by the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA), relate to achievement of recommended care in four clinical areas: heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical care. This case study focuses on Reid’s achievement in providing recommended care to surgical patients in order to reduce the risk of a hospital-acquired infection.
Quality of care has been high on Reid’s agenda since the late 1990s, when the hospital began using a report card to track health care processes and outcomes. In 2004, the multidisciplinary Surgical Care Improvement Project Quality Action Team was formed, which hospital leaders’ credit with helping to achieve high performance on the surgical measures. The team is supported by:
as well as their http://www.whynotthebest.org/ website.
The case study can be download here: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Case%20Study/2009/Nov/1338_Edwards_Reid_Hospital_case_study.pdf
The following is the summary section of the case study with sections of interest in red.
Reid Hospital and Health Care Services is a high performer on process-of-care, or “core” measures. The measures, developed by the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA), relate to achievement of recommended care in four clinical areas: heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical care. This case study focuses on Reid’s achievement in providing recommended care to surgical patients in order to reduce the risk of a hospital-acquired infection.
Quality of care has been high on Reid’s agenda since the late 1990s, when the hospital began using a report card to track health care processes and outcomes. In 2004, the multidisciplinary Surgical Care Improvement Project Quality Action Team was formed, which hospital leaders’ credit with helping to achieve high performance on the surgical measures. The team is supported by:
- a strong board, administrators, and clinical leaders;
- a clinical information system that aligns physicians’ orders with hospital standards, and alerts nurses about the timing of critical care;
- physician and nurse champions;
- performance data analysis and feedback; and
- a "just do it" approach to quality improvement.
CDC Updates CA-UTI Prevention Guidelines
Last week the CDC released its updated CA-UTI Prevention Guidelines - last published in 1981.
The guidelines can be found here.
The following is an excerpt from the document's executive summary with sections of interest in red:
The guidelines can be found here.
The following is an excerpt from the document's executive summary with sections of interest in red:
This guideline updates and expands the original Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guideline for Prevention of Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI) published in 1981. Several developments necessitated revision of the 1981 guideline, including new research and technological advancements for preventing CAUTI, increasing need to address patients in non-acute care settings and patients requiring long-term urinary catheterization, and greater emphasis on prevention initiatives as well as better defined goals and metrics for outcomes and process measures. In addition to updating the previous guideline, this revised guideline reviews the available evidence on CAUTI prevention for patients requiring chronic indwelling catheters and individuals who can be managed with alternative methods of urinary drainage (e.g., intermittent catheterization). The revised guideline also includes specific recommendations for implementation, performance measurement, and surveillance. Although the general principles of CAUTI prevention have not changed from the previous version, the revised guideline provides clarification and more specific guidance based on a defined, systematic review of the literature through July 2007. For areas where knowledge gaps exist, recommendations for further research are listed. Finally, the revised guideline outlines high-priority recommendations for CAUTI prevention in order to offer guidance for implementation.
This document is intended for use by infection prevention staff, healthcare epidemiologists, healthcare
administrators, nurses, other healthcare providers, and persons responsible for developing, implementing, and evaluating infection prevention and control programs for healthcare settings across the continuum of care. The guideline can also be used as a resource for societies or organizations that wish to develop more detailed implementation guidance for prevention of CAUTI.
Our goal was to develop a guideline based on a targeted systematic review of the best available evidence, with explicit links between the evidence and recommendations. To accomplish this, we used an adapted GRADE system approach for evaluating quality of evidence and determining strength of recommendations. The methodology, structure, and components of this guideline are approved by HICPAC and will be used for subsequent guidelines issued by HICPAC. A more detailed description of our approach is available in the Methods section.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Healthy People 2020 - Review Draft Objectives
Early last week the US Dept of Health and Human Services released the draft Healthy People 2020 objectives for public comments via the internet.
Historically, federal agencies have been guided somewhat by the objectives set in Healthy People. Every 10 years, the objectives are developed, reviewed, updated, and/or archived.
You can download the draft objectives here: http://www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020/Objectives/files/Draft2009Objectives.pdf
Or,...you can go to the following webpage to review the objectives and comment directly:
http://www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020/Objectives/TopicAreas.aspx
Note that Healthcare IT and Hospital Aquired Infections are established objectives in Healthy People 2020.
The entire press release from the AHRQ is below:
Opportunity for public comment on draft Healthy People 2020 objectives
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services invites you to comment on the DRAFT set of objectives for Healthy People 2020. For three decades, Healthy People has provided a set of national 10-year health promotion and disease prevention objectives aimed at improving the health of all Americans.
Visit www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020 to
· View proposed draft objectives for Healthy People 2020
· Comment on the proposed objectives
· Comment on the topic areas
· Suggest additional objectives
· Suggest topic areas you feel are missing from the draft set
Your comments will help ensure issues important to you are included in Healthy People. Establishing objectives and providing benchmarks to track progress motivates, guides, and focuses action. Be part of the change. Comments will be accepted through December 31, 2009.
Visit www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020 today. Your feedback will help define the vision and strategy for building a healthier Nation.
Historically, federal agencies have been guided somewhat by the objectives set in Healthy People. Every 10 years, the objectives are developed, reviewed, updated, and/or archived.
You can download the draft objectives here: http://www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020/Objectives/files/Draft2009Objectives.pdf
Or,...you can go to the following webpage to review the objectives and comment directly:
http://www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020/Objectives/TopicAreas.aspx
Note that Healthcare IT and Hospital Aquired Infections are established objectives in Healthy People 2020.
The entire press release from the AHRQ is below:
Opportunity for public comment on draft Healthy People 2020 objectives
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services invites you to comment on the DRAFT set of objectives for Healthy People 2020. For three decades, Healthy People has provided a set of national 10-year health promotion and disease prevention objectives aimed at improving the health of all Americans.
Visit www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020 to
· View proposed draft objectives for Healthy People 2020
· Comment on the proposed objectives
· Comment on the topic areas
· Suggest additional objectives
· Suggest topic areas you feel are missing from the draft set
Your comments will help ensure issues important to you are included in Healthy People. Establishing objectives and providing benchmarks to track progress motivates, guides, and focuses action. Be part of the change. Comments will be accepted through December 31, 2009.
Visit www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020 today. Your feedback will help define the vision and strategy for building a healthier Nation.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
CMS Releases Hospital Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Center Payment Update
Last week CMS released the CY2010 hospital outpatient payment update in a final rule with comment period. Hospitals will be getting a 2.1% increase in payments from Medicare, however, hospitals that are not participating in HOP QDRP will only be getting 0.1% increase.
The full text of the press release is below with items of interest to hospital quality professionals in Red.
The full text (1936 pages!) of the final rules (with comment period) can be downloaded at: http://federalregister.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2009-26499_PI.pdf
The HOP QDRP section starts on page 1135.
(Note! CY2012 HOP QDRP Measures under consideration can be found on page 1167.)
FINAL 2010 POLICY, PAYMENT CHANGES FOR HOSPITAL OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENTS AND AMBULATORY SURGICAL CENTERS
OVERVIEW
On Oct. 30, 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule with comment period that updates payment policies and rates for both hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) for calendar year (CY) 2010. The update to ASC rates constitutes the third year of a four-year transition to a revised payment system that aligns ASC payment rates with those paid to HOPDs for similar services. The final rule with comment period also seeks to promote higher quality, efficient services for Medicare beneficiaries by adopting improvements to the Hospital Outpatient Quality Data Reporting Program (HOP QDRP) and establishing procedures to make the data collected through the HOP QDRP publicly available.
CMS projects that total payments for services furnished to people with Medicare in HOPDs during CY 2010 under the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) will be $32.2 billion, while total projected CY 2010 payments under the ASC payment system will be approximately $3.4 billion.
OUTPATIENT PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT SYSTEM
Background:
Since August 2000, Medicare has paid hospitals for most services furnished in their outpatient departments under the OPPS. Medicare currently pays more than 4,000 hospitals ‑‑ including general acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, inpatient psychiatric facilities,
long-term acute care hospitals, children’s hospitals, and cancer hospitals ‑‑ for outpatient services under the OPPS. Medicare also pays community mental health centers (CMHCs) under the OPPS for partial hospitalization services. The OPPS payments cover facility resources including equipment, supplies, and hospital staff, but do not pay for the services of physicians and nonphysician practitioners who are paid separately under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS).
All services under the OPPS are classified into groups called Ambulatory Payment Classifications (APCs). Services in each APC are similar clinically and require the use of similar resources. A payment rate is established for each APC. The APC payment rates are adjusted for geographic cost differences, and payment rates and policies are updated annually through rulemaking. The final rule is generally issued by November 1 each year and, unless otherwise specified, becomes effective January 1 of the subsequent year.
Beneficiaries share in the cost of services under the OPPS by paying either a 20 percent coinsurance rate or, for certain services, a copayment required under the Medicare law not to exceed 40 percent of the total payment for the APC. The statutory copayment is gradually being replaced by the 20 percent coinsurance as the composition of APC groups is updated in response to policy changes or new cost data. CMS estimates that the overall beneficiary share of the total payments for Medicare covered outpatient services will be about 22.6 percent in CY 2010.
Significant Changes For Calendar Year 2010
CMS projects that the aggregate Medicare payments to providers under the OPPS in CY 2010 will be $32.2 billion, a $1.9 billion increase over projected payments in CY 2009.
Implementing New Coverage Authorized by MIPPA: The final rule with comment period implements several expansions of Medicare coverage that were required in the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA), including:
Kidney disease education –CMS is establishing payment to rural providers under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) for kidney disease education services furnished on or after Jan. 1, 2010 for Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with Stage IV chronic kidney disease.
Pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation – CMS is establishing OPPS payment for new, comprehensive pulmonary and intensive cardiac rehabilitation services furnished to beneficiaries with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, and related conditions, effective Jan. 1, 2010.
Strengthening Ties between Payment and Quality:
Payment reduction for failure to report quality measures – As required by law, CMS will reduce the CY 2010 annual inflation update factor by two percentage points for most services furnished by hospitals that failed to meet the CY 2009 reporting requirements of the HOP QDRP. The reduction will not apply to payments for separately payable pass-through drugs, biologicals and devices, separately payable non-pass-through drugs and non-implantable biologicals, separately payable therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, and services assigned to New Technology APCs.
Quality measures to be reported – CMS will continue to require hospitals subject to HOP QDRP requirements to provide quality data for the current 7 chart-abstracted emergency department and surgical care measures and 4 claims-based imaging efficiency measures for CY 2011 payment determinations.
Validation of quality reporting – CMS will be implementing a HOP QDRP validation requirement to ensure that hospitals are accurately reporting measures using chart-abstracted data. Under this requirement, CMS will select a sample of reported cases, request the corresponding medical records, re-abstract the HOP QDRP chart-abstracted measures, and compare the results with the measures reported by the hospital. Hospitals will be required to return paper copies of requested medical records for this CY 2011 requirement within a 45 calendar day timeframe. However, the validation results will not affect a hospital’s CY 2011 OPPS payment. This initial validation requirement for CY 2011 will provide hospitals an opportunity to become familiar with the process for future years.
Public reporting of quality data – CMS is establishing procedures to make HOP QDRP quality measure data publicly available as early as June 2010.
Supervision of Hospital Outpatient Services:
· Supervision requirements for outpatient services – In order to ensure that hospital outpatient services are appropriately supervised by qualified practitioners while not impeding beneficiary access to these services, and in response to concerns raised by the hospital community, CMS is revising or further defining several current policies for the supervision of outpatient services. First, in CY 2010, CMS will allow certain nonphysician practitioners ‑ specifically physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse-midwives, and licensed clinical social workers ‑ to provide direct supervision for all hospital outpatient therapeutic services that they are authorized to personally perform according to their state scope of practice rules and hospital-granted privileges. Under current policy, only physicians may provide the direct supervision of these services.
For purposes of on-campus hospital outpatient therapeutic services, CMS is defining “direct supervision” to mean that the physician or nonphysician practitioner must be present anywhere on the hospital campus and immediately available to furnish assistance and direction throughout the performance of the procedure. For services furnished in an off-campus provider-based department, “direct supervision” would continue to mean that the physician or nonphysician practitioner must be present in the off-campus provider-based department and immediately available to furnish assistance and direction throughout the performance of the procedure.
CMS also will require that all hospital outpatient diagnostic services furnished directly or under arrangement, whether provided in the hospital, in a provider-based department, or at a nonhospital location, follow the MPFS physician supervision requirements for individual tests.
Payment for Drugs, Biologicals, and Radiopharmaceuticals:
Drugs and pharmacy overhead – CMS will pay for the acquisition and pharmacy overhead costs of separately payable drugs and biologicals without pass-through status at the average sales price (ASP) plus 4 percent in CY 2010. The payment rate of ASP plus 4 percent is based upon the cost of separately payable drugs and biologicals calculated from hospital claims and cost reports (ASP minus 3 percent), with an adjustment for pharmacy overhead cost that reflects the redistribution of $200 million of the pharmacy overhead cost currently attributed to packaged drugs and biologicals (both coded and uncoded) to separately payable drugs and biologicals without pass-through status.
Pass-through implantable biologicals – Beginning in CY 2010, implantable biologicals that are surgically implanted (through a surgical incision or a natural orifice) and that are not receiving pass-through payment before Jan. 1, 2010 will be evaluated for pass-through status using the device category pass-through process rather than the drug and biological pass-through process. Implantable biologicals that initially qualify for device pass-through status beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2010 will be paid at hospitals’ charges adjusted to cost for the two to three year pass-through payment period.
Drug and biological pass-through payment eligibility period – Consistent with current policy, in CY 2010, CMS will continue to recognize the first date of OPPS pass-through payment of ASP plus 6 percent as the beginning of the two to three year pass-through payment eligibility period for a new drug or non-implantable biological.
· Therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals – Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, CMS will provide payment for separately payable therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals with ASP data at ASP plus 4 percent. If ASP data are not available, payment will be based upon mean unit cost from hospital claims data. Subregulatory guidance on submitting ASP for OPPS radiopharmaceutical payment based on ASP is available on the CMS Web site at: www.cms.hhs.gov/HospitalOutpatientPPS/.
Payment for Brachytherapy Sources:
CMS is adopting the proposal to pay for brachytherapy sources based on median unit costs in CY 2010, as calculated from claims data according to the standard OPPS ratesetting methodology.
Partial Hospitalization Services, including Services Provided by CMHCs:
CMS will continue paying two separate partial hospitalization program (PHP) per diem rates: one for days with three services ($150) and one for days with four or more services ($211). The CMHC multiple outlier threshold will continue to be set at 3.4 times the APC payment amount for the higher intensity partial hospitalization day for CY 2010.
AMBULATORY SURGICAL CENTERS
Background:
There are approximately 5,000 Medicare-participating ASCs. Since Jan. 1, 2008, ASCs have been paid under a revised ASC payment system that both aligns payment in ASCs and hospital outpatient settings by basing ASC payment rates on the APC relative weights for similar services and extends payment to more surgical services in ASCs than under the prior payment system. To minimize the impact of the revised payment system, the ASC payment rates calculated under the new ratesetting methodology are being phased in over four years. CY 2010 is the third year of the transition. In general, the revised ASC payment rate for a surgical procedure is a percentage of the payment rate for the same procedure under the OPPS; however, there are a few exceptions. For device-intensive procedures (assigned to a subset of the OPPS device-dependent APCs where device costs account for more than 50 percent of the total cost of the service), ASCs receive the same payment for the device cost as under the OPPS. For new ASC procedures that are predominantly performed in physicians’ offices, the ASC payment is capped at the amount the physician is paid under the MPFS for practice expenses for providing the same procedure in an office.
In the CY 2008 final rule that revised the ASC payment system, CMS added approximately 800 procedures to the list of ASC procedures for which payment could be made. Only those surgical procedures that would be expected to pose a significant safety risk to beneficiaries or that would be expected to require an overnight stay following the procedure are excluded from the ASC list. These changes in payment policies for ASCs give patients broader access to surgical services in settings that are clinically appropriate.
Significant Changes For Calendar Year 2010:
ASC Payment Rate Updates: The revised ASC payment rates were established to reflect the same relativity of resource use among procedures as under the OPPS, taking into consideration the lower costs of surgical procedures performed in ASCs and maintaining budget neutrality in the payment system. By law, CY 2010 is the first year that CMS may provide an inflation update under the revised ASC payment system. The percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers that updates the ASC conversion factor for CY 2010 is 1.2 percent.
Changes to ASC Covered Surgical Procedures and Covered Ancillary Services: CMS is adding 26 surgical procedures to the list of procedures for which Medicare would pay when performed in an ASC. CMS also is newly designating 6 procedures as office-based procedures (subject to payment at the lesser of the national office practice expense payment to the physician or the national ASC rate), and temporarily designating an additional 16 procedures as office-based procedures based on coding changes for CY 2010. The final rule with comment period also updates the list of device-intensive procedures and covered ancillary services and their rates, consistent with the OPPS update.
The CY 2010 OPPS/ASC final rule with comment period will appear in the Nov. 20 Federal Register. Comments on designated provisions are due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on Dec. 29, 2009. CMS will respond to comments in the CY 2011 OPPS/ASC final rule.
For more information on the CY 2010 final rule with comment period for the OPPS and ASC payment system, please see the CMS Web site at:
OPPS: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HospitalOutpatientPPS/
ASC payment system: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ASCPayment/
The full text of the press release is below with items of interest to hospital quality professionals in Red.
The full text (1936 pages!) of the final rules (with comment period) can be downloaded at: http://federalregister.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2009-26499_PI.pdf
The HOP QDRP section starts on page 1135.
(Note! CY2012 HOP QDRP Measures under consideration can be found on page 1167.)
FINAL 2010 POLICY, PAYMENT CHANGES FOR HOSPITAL OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENTS AND AMBULATORY SURGICAL CENTERS
OVERVIEW
On Oct. 30, 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule with comment period that updates payment policies and rates for both hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) for calendar year (CY) 2010. The update to ASC rates constitutes the third year of a four-year transition to a revised payment system that aligns ASC payment rates with those paid to HOPDs for similar services. The final rule with comment period also seeks to promote higher quality, efficient services for Medicare beneficiaries by adopting improvements to the Hospital Outpatient Quality Data Reporting Program (HOP QDRP) and establishing procedures to make the data collected through the HOP QDRP publicly available.
CMS projects that total payments for services furnished to people with Medicare in HOPDs during CY 2010 under the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) will be $32.2 billion, while total projected CY 2010 payments under the ASC payment system will be approximately $3.4 billion.
OUTPATIENT PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT SYSTEM
Background:
Since August 2000, Medicare has paid hospitals for most services furnished in their outpatient departments under the OPPS. Medicare currently pays more than 4,000 hospitals ‑‑ including general acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, inpatient psychiatric facilities,
long-term acute care hospitals, children’s hospitals, and cancer hospitals ‑‑ for outpatient services under the OPPS. Medicare also pays community mental health centers (CMHCs) under the OPPS for partial hospitalization services. The OPPS payments cover facility resources including equipment, supplies, and hospital staff, but do not pay for the services of physicians and nonphysician practitioners who are paid separately under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS).
All services under the OPPS are classified into groups called Ambulatory Payment Classifications (APCs). Services in each APC are similar clinically and require the use of similar resources. A payment rate is established for each APC. The APC payment rates are adjusted for geographic cost differences, and payment rates and policies are updated annually through rulemaking. The final rule is generally issued by November 1 each year and, unless otherwise specified, becomes effective January 1 of the subsequent year.
Beneficiaries share in the cost of services under the OPPS by paying either a 20 percent coinsurance rate or, for certain services, a copayment required under the Medicare law not to exceed 40 percent of the total payment for the APC. The statutory copayment is gradually being replaced by the 20 percent coinsurance as the composition of APC groups is updated in response to policy changes or new cost data. CMS estimates that the overall beneficiary share of the total payments for Medicare covered outpatient services will be about 22.6 percent in CY 2010.
Significant Changes For Calendar Year 2010
CMS projects that the aggregate Medicare payments to providers under the OPPS in CY 2010 will be $32.2 billion, a $1.9 billion increase over projected payments in CY 2009.
Implementing New Coverage Authorized by MIPPA: The final rule with comment period implements several expansions of Medicare coverage that were required in the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA), including:
Kidney disease education –CMS is establishing payment to rural providers under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) for kidney disease education services furnished on or after Jan. 1, 2010 for Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with Stage IV chronic kidney disease.
Pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation – CMS is establishing OPPS payment for new, comprehensive pulmonary and intensive cardiac rehabilitation services furnished to beneficiaries with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, and related conditions, effective Jan. 1, 2010.
Strengthening Ties between Payment and Quality:
Payment reduction for failure to report quality measures – As required by law, CMS will reduce the CY 2010 annual inflation update factor by two percentage points for most services furnished by hospitals that failed to meet the CY 2009 reporting requirements of the HOP QDRP. The reduction will not apply to payments for separately payable pass-through drugs, biologicals and devices, separately payable non-pass-through drugs and non-implantable biologicals, separately payable therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, and services assigned to New Technology APCs.
Quality measures to be reported – CMS will continue to require hospitals subject to HOP QDRP requirements to provide quality data for the current 7 chart-abstracted emergency department and surgical care measures and 4 claims-based imaging efficiency measures for CY 2011 payment determinations.
Validation of quality reporting – CMS will be implementing a HOP QDRP validation requirement to ensure that hospitals are accurately reporting measures using chart-abstracted data. Under this requirement, CMS will select a sample of reported cases, request the corresponding medical records, re-abstract the HOP QDRP chart-abstracted measures, and compare the results with the measures reported by the hospital. Hospitals will be required to return paper copies of requested medical records for this CY 2011 requirement within a 45 calendar day timeframe. However, the validation results will not affect a hospital’s CY 2011 OPPS payment. This initial validation requirement for CY 2011 will provide hospitals an opportunity to become familiar with the process for future years.
Public reporting of quality data – CMS is establishing procedures to make HOP QDRP quality measure data publicly available as early as June 2010.
Supervision of Hospital Outpatient Services:
· Supervision requirements for outpatient services – In order to ensure that hospital outpatient services are appropriately supervised by qualified practitioners while not impeding beneficiary access to these services, and in response to concerns raised by the hospital community, CMS is revising or further defining several current policies for the supervision of outpatient services. First, in CY 2010, CMS will allow certain nonphysician practitioners ‑ specifically physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse-midwives, and licensed clinical social workers ‑ to provide direct supervision for all hospital outpatient therapeutic services that they are authorized to personally perform according to their state scope of practice rules and hospital-granted privileges. Under current policy, only physicians may provide the direct supervision of these services.
For purposes of on-campus hospital outpatient therapeutic services, CMS is defining “direct supervision” to mean that the physician or nonphysician practitioner must be present anywhere on the hospital campus and immediately available to furnish assistance and direction throughout the performance of the procedure. For services furnished in an off-campus provider-based department, “direct supervision” would continue to mean that the physician or nonphysician practitioner must be present in the off-campus provider-based department and immediately available to furnish assistance and direction throughout the performance of the procedure.
CMS also will require that all hospital outpatient diagnostic services furnished directly or under arrangement, whether provided in the hospital, in a provider-based department, or at a nonhospital location, follow the MPFS physician supervision requirements for individual tests.
Payment for Drugs, Biologicals, and Radiopharmaceuticals:
Drugs and pharmacy overhead – CMS will pay for the acquisition and pharmacy overhead costs of separately payable drugs and biologicals without pass-through status at the average sales price (ASP) plus 4 percent in CY 2010. The payment rate of ASP plus 4 percent is based upon the cost of separately payable drugs and biologicals calculated from hospital claims and cost reports (ASP minus 3 percent), with an adjustment for pharmacy overhead cost that reflects the redistribution of $200 million of the pharmacy overhead cost currently attributed to packaged drugs and biologicals (both coded and uncoded) to separately payable drugs and biologicals without pass-through status.
Pass-through implantable biologicals – Beginning in CY 2010, implantable biologicals that are surgically implanted (through a surgical incision or a natural orifice) and that are not receiving pass-through payment before Jan. 1, 2010 will be evaluated for pass-through status using the device category pass-through process rather than the drug and biological pass-through process. Implantable biologicals that initially qualify for device pass-through status beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2010 will be paid at hospitals’ charges adjusted to cost for the two to three year pass-through payment period.
Drug and biological pass-through payment eligibility period – Consistent with current policy, in CY 2010, CMS will continue to recognize the first date of OPPS pass-through payment of ASP plus 6 percent as the beginning of the two to three year pass-through payment eligibility period for a new drug or non-implantable biological.
· Therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals – Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, CMS will provide payment for separately payable therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals with ASP data at ASP plus 4 percent. If ASP data are not available, payment will be based upon mean unit cost from hospital claims data. Subregulatory guidance on submitting ASP for OPPS radiopharmaceutical payment based on ASP is available on the CMS Web site at: www.cms.hhs.gov/HospitalOutpatientPPS/.
Payment for Brachytherapy Sources:
CMS is adopting the proposal to pay for brachytherapy sources based on median unit costs in CY 2010, as calculated from claims data according to the standard OPPS ratesetting methodology.
Partial Hospitalization Services, including Services Provided by CMHCs:
CMS will continue paying two separate partial hospitalization program (PHP) per diem rates: one for days with three services ($150) and one for days with four or more services ($211). The CMHC multiple outlier threshold will continue to be set at 3.4 times the APC payment amount for the higher intensity partial hospitalization day for CY 2010.
AMBULATORY SURGICAL CENTERS
Background:
There are approximately 5,000 Medicare-participating ASCs. Since Jan. 1, 2008, ASCs have been paid under a revised ASC payment system that both aligns payment in ASCs and hospital outpatient settings by basing ASC payment rates on the APC relative weights for similar services and extends payment to more surgical services in ASCs than under the prior payment system. To minimize the impact of the revised payment system, the ASC payment rates calculated under the new ratesetting methodology are being phased in over four years. CY 2010 is the third year of the transition. In general, the revised ASC payment rate for a surgical procedure is a percentage of the payment rate for the same procedure under the OPPS; however, there are a few exceptions. For device-intensive procedures (assigned to a subset of the OPPS device-dependent APCs where device costs account for more than 50 percent of the total cost of the service), ASCs receive the same payment for the device cost as under the OPPS. For new ASC procedures that are predominantly performed in physicians’ offices, the ASC payment is capped at the amount the physician is paid under the MPFS for practice expenses for providing the same procedure in an office.
In the CY 2008 final rule that revised the ASC payment system, CMS added approximately 800 procedures to the list of ASC procedures for which payment could be made. Only those surgical procedures that would be expected to pose a significant safety risk to beneficiaries or that would be expected to require an overnight stay following the procedure are excluded from the ASC list. These changes in payment policies for ASCs give patients broader access to surgical services in settings that are clinically appropriate.
Significant Changes For Calendar Year 2010:
ASC Payment Rate Updates: The revised ASC payment rates were established to reflect the same relativity of resource use among procedures as under the OPPS, taking into consideration the lower costs of surgical procedures performed in ASCs and maintaining budget neutrality in the payment system. By law, CY 2010 is the first year that CMS may provide an inflation update under the revised ASC payment system. The percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers that updates the ASC conversion factor for CY 2010 is 1.2 percent.
Changes to ASC Covered Surgical Procedures and Covered Ancillary Services: CMS is adding 26 surgical procedures to the list of procedures for which Medicare would pay when performed in an ASC. CMS also is newly designating 6 procedures as office-based procedures (subject to payment at the lesser of the national office practice expense payment to the physician or the national ASC rate), and temporarily designating an additional 16 procedures as office-based procedures based on coding changes for CY 2010. The final rule with comment period also updates the list of device-intensive procedures and covered ancillary services and their rates, consistent with the OPPS update.
The CY 2010 OPPS/ASC final rule with comment period will appear in the Nov. 20 Federal Register. Comments on designated provisions are due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on Dec. 29, 2009. CMS will respond to comments in the CY 2011 OPPS/ASC final rule.
For more information on the CY 2010 final rule with comment period for the OPPS and ASC payment system, please see the CMS Web site at:
OPPS: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HospitalOutpatientPPS/
ASC payment system: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ASCPayment/
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