Thursday, September 6, 2018
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CMS gained savings from the Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2017. About 60 percent (up from 56 percent) of MSSP ACOs saved money compared to their benchmarks and 34 percent (up from 31 percent) earned shared savings payments. CMS paid $780 million in bonuses to the ACOs, and it made $313.7 million.
Modern Healthcare
points out that the numbers came out only weeks after CMS proposed overhauling the program because it wasn’t generating enough savings.
(
Modern Healthcare
;
RevCycle Intelligence
)
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A Pew Charitable Trusts report says not enough attention is being paid to EHR usability from a safety point of view. For all the benefits that EHRs bring, variations in their design, customization and use can “lead to inefficiencies or workflow challenges and can fail to prevent—or even contribute to—patient harm.” The 54-page report includes voluntary certification precepts and test cases for all stages of the EHR software lifecycle, from design and development through implementation and training.
(
Healthcare IT News
;
Pew study
)
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Innovation & Transformation
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One of t
he
most hated companies in America
is at the forefront of employee health innovation,
The
New York Times
reports. C
omcast's
health care costs have remained essentially flat, and most employees have a $250 deductible. Although the company works with some insurers, it contracts with its own portfolio of companies to administer its program and guide employees. The company invests in some of these firms through its venture capital arm. Others are noticing Comcast's success in employee health contracting: This week, Jack Stoddard, Comcast's former general manager for digital health, was tapped by the Amazon-J.P. Morgan-Berkshire Hathaway health care venture to serve as chief operations officer.
(
The New York Times
;
HealthCare Dive
)
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Salem
VA
Medical Center Community Living Centers in Virginia made an important discovery: Encouraging patients to brush their teeth appeared to dramatically reduce the number of non-ventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia cases. Beginning in late 2016, nurses began making sure patients brushed their teeth twice a day. Since then, the number of pneumonia cases decreased by 90 percent. Other hospitals that adopted the approach saw pneumonia rates drop by at least 40 percent. According to
FierceHealthcare
, most hospitals recoup the cost for oral care items within three months.
(
FierceHealthcare
)
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The University of Houston College of Medicine will accept its first class in 2020, and it intends for half its graduates to pursue primary care. Tuition for its inaugural class of 30 students is covered, thanks to an anonymous donation. “We think the scholarships will do two things. First, they will help us attract great medical students. Secondly, the decreased debt load may reduce the temptation for students to bypass primary care and choose higher-paying procedural specialties,” says Stephen Spann, MD, MBA, vice president of medical affairs and founding dean.
(
AAFP News
)
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Fifty-seven percent of American adults have been surprised by a medical bill they thought would be covered by insurance, according to a survey from NORC at the University of Chicago. Of those who were surprised, 20 percent reported the bill was a result of a doctor not being in-network. Most charges were for physician services and lab tests. The respondents blame hospitals and insurers. However, according to Caroline Pearson, senior fellow at NORC, the findings suggest “consumers may have difficulty understanding their insurance benefits or knowing which providers are included in their plan’s network.” (
Healthcare Finance
;
survey
)
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Uninsured rate steady
:
The uninsured rate in the first three months of 2018 held steady compared to the same timeframe last year, according to data from the CDC.
(
The Hill
)
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Minimal increase for ACA plans
:
The price of a 2019 policy sold on the ACA exchanges will increase less than 4 percent, according to an analysis by ACASignups.net.
(
NPR
)
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HIPAA, texts and calls
:
A group of insurers, led by the American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management, is reviving a push for the FCC to grant a 2016 petition that would clarify how HIPAA-covered entities can use text messages or calls to communicate with patients.
(
FierceHealthcare
)
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The FDA will explore ways potential treatments for drug addiction can reduce overdose rates and the transmission of infectious diseases. This represents a shift from focusing only on whether treatment cuts opioid use. Author Beth Macy joined CBS’s
This Morning
to discuss the topic. Her new book,
Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America,
tracks the opioid epidemic from its early days in rural America to the nationwide crisis it is today.
(
CBS)
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MarketVoices...quotes worth reading
Comcast is “the most interesting and creative employer when it comes to health care benefits,”—Dr. Bob Kocher, a partner at Venrock, a venture capital firm, in
The New York Times
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Editor
Sandy Mau
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H2R Minutes
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