quality
CT hospital info scarce on new rating site
The Leapfrog Group, a national leader in improving the quality and value of health care, has released a new web tool comparing hospitals on patient safety performance. Unfortunately, only two CT hospitals responded to the Leapfrog survey – Sharon and Backus Hospitals. Both did very well in two areas including managing serious errors; both needed…
Read MoreCEPAC meeting focuses on ADHD treatments
The spring CEPAC meeting last Friday at the University of New Hampshire was a deep dive into research comparing treatments for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). CEPAC is a New England regional public advisory group convened to consider the clinical and cost effectiveness of competing treatments. CEPAC includes clinicians, academics, patient advocates and (nonvoting) payer…
Read MoreHospital errors rising, state investigations dropping
An analysis by the CT Health I-Team of DPH hospital adverse event reports finds that the number of errors has risen steadily over the last five years. The same investigation finds that DPH investigations of serious medical errors in hospitals have been rare and the numbers are dropping. Of 17 patients who reportedly died or…
Read MoreOvertreatment webinar slides and video posted
Slides and video from Rosemary Gibson’s webinar on What States Can Do About Health Care Overuse are posted. Rosemary Gibson has authored several books on the overuse of medical care, how it is harming our health, fueling health costs, and what we can do about it. The next webinar is The Promise of Shared Decision-Making…
Read MoreCEPAC meeting – comparing treatment resistant depression treatments
Friday’s CEPAC meeting in Providence was fascinating. We spent the day comparing the clinical and cost effectiveness of some common and some new treatments for people with treatment resistant depression (TRD). Between 13 and 14 million Americans experience clinical depression each year, but only about half seek treatment and only 20% of those get adequate…
Read MoreCT hospitals well below US average in patient satisfaction
Patients at New Haven hospitals are the most satisfied in CT, but the bar is pretty low. New Haven’s hospitals ranked 204th out of 295 hospital referral regions in patient satisfaction, according to a calculation by Kaiser Health News based on HHS data. Hartford’s hospitals ranked 215th and Bridgeport’s were 227th. If you were thinking…
Read MoreStudy finds new brain stent actually associated with More strokes, approval process faulted – CEPAC webinar
A study of the effectiveness of a brain stent, designed to reduce strokes, instead caused so many more strokes in patients (14.7%) than a control group (5.8%) that the study was quickly halted. The expensive stents had been approved by the FDA under a humanitarian exemption from usual safety reviews. The stent has been implanted…
Read MoreSeptember CT health policy quiz – CT health care quality
Test your knowledge of health care quality in CT. Take the September CT Health Policy Webquiz.
Read MoreCEPAC meeting
The New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council held its first meeting last month in Boston. CEPAC is an initiative of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, funded by the US Agency for Healthcare Quality and Review. To make informed healthcare decisions policymakers, patients and clinicians need rigorous evidence on the comparative risks and…
Read MoreUS News’s hospital rankings out — CT performance disappointing
CT hospitals did not fare particularly well in the new 2011 US News hospital rankings. None ranked in the Honor Roll of best hospitals nationally. Only two of 47 total CT hospitals ranked nationally in any specialty – Yale New Haven #8 in diabetes and endocrinology and #7 in pediatrics: diabetes and endocrinology, and CT…
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