Latest KFF Health News Stories
Missouri Hospitals Seek To Focus Readmission Penalties On Patient Poverty
The Missouri Hospital Association objects to the formula for setting the federal penalties because it does not factor in the number of patients who are poor or in bad health. It is seeking to generate consumer interest in the penalties.
Inspectors Find Calif. Hospital’s Pharmacy Posed Infection Risk
Thousands of patients at the San Diego-area hospital may have been exposed to infection last year because of unsanitary conditions in the compounding lab where IVs were mixed, officials found.
Critics Of Medicare’s Overall Hospital Star Rating Push For Changes
Federal officials delayed the release of the ratings after the hospital industry and members of Congress objected to the formula, saying it worked against hospitals that take the patients that are the toughest to treat.
Expectant Moms: You Have Nine Months For Delivery Decisions, You Better Shop Around
A nonprofit patient safety group devised nationally standardized measures to help pregnant women gauge hospitals on quality of maternity care.
Shortages Of Essential Emergency Care Drugs Increase, Study Finds
The problems persist even after Congress in 2012 gave the FDA enhanced powers to respond when drug levels are low.
Medicare Pays Bonuses To 231 Hospitals With Lower Quality Because Of Cheaper Costs
New research highlights the paradox in the federal program to improve hospital quality.
For Hospitals, Prestige Leads To Profits
A new study explores why the most profitable U.S. hospitals are who they are.
Opioid Epidemic Fueling Hospitalizations, Hospital Costs
New research sheds light on the growing costs to the health care system associated with painkiller and heroin abuse.
Hospital Discharge: It’s One Of The Most Dangerous Periods For Patients
Bad coordination and communication can put patients at risk as they’re discharged from a hospital.
Three Hospitals Hope To Spark A Reduction In Surgeries By Inexperienced Doctors
The prestigious facilities are seeking to improve patient safety by getting surgeons and hospitals to pledge to meet minimum thresholds for 10 high-risk procedures.
Administration Says New Rules For Medicaid Plans Will Improve Service For Enrollees
Private insurers that administer Medicaid for the poor also face limits on profits and requirements to provide sufficient doctors.
Medicare Delays Plans For New Star Ratings On Hospitals After Congressional Pressure
The “overall hospital quality” rating is designed to help consumers who are sometimes confused by the variety of quality measures that the government already provides. But members of Congress had asked for the delay because of concerns that the methodology for the stars was not accurate.
At Teaching Hospitals, Aggressive Screening May Lead To Medicare Penalties
Nearly half of academic medical centers will be penalized by the government this year for high rates of infections and other avoidable complications, but the hospitals say it shows they screen better for problems.
Rise In Oncologists Working For Hospitals Spurs Higher Chemo Costs: Study
Researchers found that the facility fees hospitals and their clinics routinely add to the bill helps drive the price increases.
A Dearth Of Hospital Beds For Patients In Psychiatric Crisis
A California Assembly bill would require creating a mandatory registry for available psychiatric hospital beds, but the state hospital association calls it unworkable.
Hospitals Eye Community Health Workers To Cultivate Patients’ Successes
These non-medical workers are increasingly being seen by hospitals as a critical point of contact for patients and a way to help hold down readmission rates and improve health outcomes.
California Insurance Marketplace Imposes New Quality, Cost Conditions On Plans
In a sweeping overhaul of its contracts, the state’s insurance exchange will require health plans to hold doctors and hospitals accountable for quality and cost.
Study: More Collaboration Aids Health Care For At-Risk Populations
A new study from the National Academies of Sciences seeks best practices for health providers whose patients are disproportionately disadvantaged.
Major Employers Decry Sutter Health’s Tactics In Dispute Over Prices
Sutter Health, with dominant market share in Northern California, is insisting that employers sign arbitration agreements or face sharply higher out-of-network rates.
Hospital Software Often Doesn’t Flag Unsafe Drug Prescriptions, Report Finds
A survey conducted by the Leapfrog Group finds that though many hospitals have computer-based medication systems in place to protect against errors, many still fall short in highlighting possible problems.
