Quality

The focus of quality improvement in healthcare is to bolster performance and processes related to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Leaders in this space also ensure the proper selection of imaging exams and procedures, and monitor the safety of services, among other duties. Reimbursement programs such as the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) utilize financial incentives to improve quality. This also includes setting and maintaining care quality initiatives, such as the requirements set by the Joint Commission.

Hip and knee replacements, costs on the rise in the US

Planned hip and knee replacements are on the rise in the U.S., including among younger Americans, according to an analysis from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA).

January 29, 2019

More than half of physicians are burned out or depressed

Physicians are feeling stressed out, with 44 percent reporting they feel burned out and 15 percent reporting they are depressed, according to a recent report from Medscape.

January 17, 2019

Makers of OxyContin misled patients, doctors on addiction dangers

An American family that has become one of the wealthiest in the nation due to sales of the powerful opioid OxyContin misled doctors and patients about the dangers associated with the drug, The New York Times reported.

January 16, 2019
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Executives shuffle at Baylor St. Luke’s following ProPublica investigation

Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center appointed a new president and restructured other staff after an investigation from the Houston Chronicle and ProPublica found mistakes at the Houston-based hospital’s heart transplant center led to patient deaths.

January 14, 2019

70% say US healthcare is in a state of crisis

The U.S. healthcare system is not very popular, according to a recent Gallup poll. In fact, 70 percent of Americans describe the system as being “in a state of crisis” or “having major problems,” the poll found.

January 14, 2019

Flu contributed to 145,000 deaths in 2017

An aggressive flu season in 2017 contributed to 145,000 global deaths, according to a recent study published by The Lancet. The high figure echoes early estimates of 80,000 flu deaths in the United States in the same year.

January 11, 2019

Rising drug costs caused by price hikes, not new innovations

Drug prices are going up not just because of new innovations in medications, as the pharma industry frequently cites, but also because the industry is pricing existing products higher, according to a Health Affairs study.

January 9, 2019

American cancer death rate dropped 27% over last quarter-century

Deaths from cancer in the United States declined 27 percent from a peak in 1991, according to the American Cancer Society.

January 8, 2019

Around the web

Half a year after President Biden officially directed federal agencies in the executive branch’s bailiwick to “seize the promise and manage the risks” of AI, the White House has posted a status report.

U.S. physicians often receive payments from medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. New research in JAMA found a connection between receiving such payments and using specific devices—should the industry be concerned? 

Five of the largest U.S. medical societies focused on cardiovascular health are one step closer to seeing their paradigm-shifting proposal become a reality.

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