quality
February CT Health Policy Webquiz: CT Medicaid quality
Test your knowledge of Medicaid quality in CT. Take the February CT Health Policy Webquiz.
Read MoreSurgical errors in CT hospitals climbed in 2013
A new analysis by C-HIT found that adverse events (serious medical errors) in CT hospitals were up significantly in 2013, more than double the year before. The greatest increases were for foreign objects left in bodies and perforations during surgery. Deaths, serious falls, serious medication errors, and surgeries on the wrong body part all increased…
Read MoreJanuary CT Health Policy Webquiz: ACO performance in CT
Test your knowledge about the quality and efficiency performance of CT’s Medicare ACOs. Take the January CT Health Policy Webquiz.
Read MoreNew England comparative effectiveness report on controversies in diabetes management options
A new analysis comparing treatments for Type 2 Diabetes found significant opportunities to expand use of high value options– those that are both clinically effective and cost effective. NPH insulin (intermediate-acting human insulin) is equally effective as newer insulin analogs at lowering blood glucose levels, but at one-third the cost. The prevalence and costs of…
Read MoreOctober CT Health Policy Webquiz: NCQA rankings of CT health plans
Test your knowledge about the latest NCQA quality rankings of CT health plans . Take the https://cthealthpolicy.org/quiz/oct2014.htm.
Read MoreCT has second highest rate of 2013 hospital Medicare readmission penalties
CT was behind only NJ last year in the percent of hospitals receiving Medicare readmission penalties and the average penalty for CT hospitals more than doubled from 2012. Medicare fines hospitals for patients who return unplanned to the hospital for treatment within 30 days of discharge compared to an expected readmission rate, adjusted for severity…
Read MoreCSG/ERC Hopkins tour highlights patient safety, care coordination and cancer innovations
Yesterday’s off-site trip to Johns Hopkins from the CSG/ERC annual meeting was impressive. We heard about out of the box thinking by a clinical scientist that led to a breakthrough in treating lung cancer – that very low, but longer term doses of chemotherapy drugs worked better than full doses in shrinking tumors and helped…
Read MoreNew SIM under service survey — please help protect consumers
The SIM Equity and Access Committee is working to develop a monitoring system for inappropriate underservice as CT’s health system moves toward shared savings payment models. Underservice can be denial of appropriate care, limiting expensive treatment options, limiting access to certain providers, avoidance of consumers that may not generate savings, or cost shifting to consumers.…
Read MoreComparative effectiveness opportunity guide for New England OB-Gyn services
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has produced a comprehensive analysisof opportunities to reduce overtreatment from the Choosing Wisely list of five overused treatments identified by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. ICER’s report focuses on New England including analysis of current regional utilization patterns, the feasibility of practice change, resources for…
Read MoreCHC quality conference: Reimagining primary care
Yesterday’s ninth annual Weitzman Institute conference on improving the quality of care did not disappoint. National and CHC, Inc. speakers touched on workforce and technology innovations to build primary care capacity and improve quality of care, engaging youth in coverage expansions, connecting medicine to community services to stop the expensive treadmill of treating preventable health…
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