- CMS delays start date for several new mandatory bundled payment models. CMS on Monday announced plans to delay from July 1 to Oct. 1 three mandatory bundled payment models. The affected models include two bundled payment programs for heart attack treatment and bypass surgeries billed through Medicare, as well as the expansion of its Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) Model. Some industry experts said the delays, detailed in an interim rule published Tuesday in the Federal Register, raise questions about the future of mandatory payment models under the Trump administration.
- Patient navigation system cuts unnecessary ED visits. Presbyterian Healthcare Services (PHS) has seen patient satisfaction increase and costs decrease since it implemented an ED patient navigation program at Presbyterian Hospital in 2010, according to PHS CEO Dale Maxwell. Maxwell said under the program, all patients who visit the ED undergo a medical screening and are transferred to a more appropriate care site if they are not in "emergency status"—a transfer that eliminates potentially costly ED visits and pairs patients with medical professionals who can provide longer-term care. The system has since spread the program to other hospitals.
- Real-time tool spotlights patient harm. Adventist Health System developed a real-time alert system that has captured thousands of incidents of patient harm that might otherwise have gone unrecorded, according to a study published in The Joint Commission Journal for Patient Safety. Over an 11-month period, the system's manual method identified 132 instances of patient harm across 440 of Adventist's EHRs—while the automated triggering tool scanned 40,000 EHRs and recorded 2,700 such instances.
From Advisory Board:
- The newest strategies for population health. Population health management (PHM) is no longer just a hot discussion topic—it is now becoming real to health care providers. Join us on March 30 at 3 P.M. ET to get an update on evolving PHM practices and the latest innovative care models.
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- Zeroing in on the best MACRA approach for your practice. Join us on March 30 at 3 P.M. ET to learn the advantages—and challenges—of taking on risk under MACRA and how to strategically select the Medicare risk model that's right for your group.
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- How to attract specialty care consumers. Join us on April 11 at 3 P.M. ET to learn how to design specialty care access points that appeal to consumers—and give you an edge over the competition.