Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More Hospitals Dinged By Medicare For Safety Issues Than Last Year
Kaiser Health News: Medicare Penalizes 758 Hospitals For Safety Incidents
The federal government is penalizing 758 hospitals with higher rates of patient safety incidents, and more than half of those places had also been fined last year, Medicare records released late Wednesday show. Among the hospitals getting punished for the first time are some well-known institutions, including Stanford Health Care in Northern California, Denver Health Medical Center and two satellite hospitals run by the Mayo Clinic Health System in Minnesota, according to the federal data. (Rau, 12/10)
KHN also has posted a data table listing the hospitals penalized for patient safety in 2016.
Modern Healthcare: CMS Posts New Quality Data For Individual Doctors Over AMA Protests
For the first time, Medicare has published quality performance scores for individual doctors, but only for those who volunteered data. About four in 10 are included. The results score doctors' performance on routine screening and other preventive care for common conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes. (Evans, 12/10)
Kaiser Health News: Many Hospitals Neglect Practices To Combat ER Overcrowding, Study Finds
Crowded emergency departments have been vexing patients and hospital staff for years as consumers have increasingly sought care there. But a new study finds that many of the busiest facilities have yet to adopt several well regarded measures to reduce the wait and minimize delays. (Andrews, 12/11)
