quality
Lots of hospital quality news, CT not excelling
In the last few days several sources have released hospital quality rankings and measures. The bottom line — CT’s hospitals have a lot of work to do. CMS released their long-awaited five star system for hospital ratings, but no CT hospitals received five stars. In fact, only one earned four stars (Backus), 17 received…
Read MoreTwenty-six advocates support DSS decision to evaluate Medicaid reform
Wednesday 26 independent consumer advocates wrote the Lieutenant Governor supporting DSS’s decision to evaluate outcomes after the first wave of 200,000+ members into the new Medicaid shared savings program, MQISSP. The advocates support DSS’s prudent plan to assess the impact, good and bad, and make revisions before moving more people into the untested program. Enlightened…
Read MoreCT second lowest in US in premature deaths, but also among most costly states
Second only to New Hampshire among states, Connecticut residents are avoiding premature deaths preventable with better health care. However, no Connecticut community ranked in the top 10% across health indicators in the Commonwealth Fund’s 2016 Local Health System Scorecard. While we do very well in Healthy Lives measures, we have a great deal of work…
Read MoreNew Haven Register Forum: ICER part of solution in addressing drug effectiveness, cost
From yesterday’s New Haven Register: The news is full of recent drug companies’ breathtaking price hikes. A new study by Reuters finds that prices for four of the top 10 U.S. drugs more than doubled since 2011, and prices for the other six rose more than 50 percent. These drugs treat common problems such as arthritis, asthma…
Read MorePalliative care webinar offers opportunities to improve life for seriously ill people — and save money
Today’s webinar with Dr. Diane Meier from the Center to Advance Palliative Care was moving as well as offering a very promising policy option for CT’s Medicaid program. Palliative care offers great potential to improve and extend the lives of people with serious illness, allowing them to get care at home if they wish, while…
Read MoreCEPAC meeting affirms the value of outpatient palliative care, but more research is needed
At yesterday’s meeting in Hartford, CEPAC took a deep dive into the clinical and cost effectiveness of palliative care delivered in outpatient settings. From CEPAC’s report, “Palliative care is a management approach that provides symptom relief and comfort care to patients with serious or life-threatening illnesses, with the goal of improving quality of life for both patients…
Read MoreConnecticut scores well in health care quality, but near the middle in disparities
The latest National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report from HHS finds significant improvement in access to health care across groups in 2014, likely due to the Affordable Care Act. Released earlier this month, the annual report tracks over 250 measures of quality and disparities in health care. Along with other northeastern states, Connecticut performed well…
Read MoreCEPAC meeting next Thursday in CT – come watch smart people debate and vote on the effectiveness of palliative care interventions
The March meeting of CEPAC, New England’s comparative effectiveness council, will be in Hartford next Thursday, the 31stat the Bushnell. CEPAC is an independent council of clinicians, academics and consumer advocates who take a deep dive into research around treatments for specific conditions, sorting out and voting on clinical effectiveness, but also which are worth…
Read MoreSurvey of CT ACOs – early yet, good intentions but uncertain future
Together with the Hartford Business Journal, the CT Health Policy Project conducted the first survey of CT ACOs finding some unexpected findings. ACOs are networks of providers across the continuum that coordinate high-quality care for people and receive a share of the savings they generate. ACOs are a foundation for efforts to reform health care…
Read MoreCEPAC coming to Connecticut – effectiveness of palliative care
The March meeting of CEPAC, New England’s comparative effectiveness council, will be in Hartford on the 31stat the Bushnell. CEPAC is an independent council of clinicians, academics and consumer advocates who take a deep dive into research around treatments for specific conditions, sorting out and voting on clinical effectiveness, but also which are worth the…
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