quality
CT hospitals score well in quality
The Hartford Courant is reporting that new data from Medicare’s Hospital Compare site rate CT hospitals highly in quality. For example, the national average time for patients with chest pain to get an electrocardiogram is 43 minutes; in CT patients wait only 19 minutes. However, we pay more than 38 other states; hospital expenses per…
Read MoreCT hospitals left out of Medicare bonuses
No CT hospitals are among hospitals nationally receiving Medicare bonuses under the new national health reform act. The bonuses were designed to equalize payments between high and low cost hospitals – none of CT’s 30 hospitals qualified as lower cost. The provision was prompted by research led by Dartmouth Atlas showing no link between high…
Read MoreAre hospitals more dangerous in July?
Anyone who has worked around hospitals has heard the warning to stay away in July when new residents start. But is it true? The Wall Street Journal examines the evidence, which is mixed. The bottom line is that it’s always wise to be an informed consumer. For tips on making your hospital stay safer and…
Read MoreHearing on hospital error reporting proposal
Yesterday the Public Health Committee heard SB-248, An Act Concerning Adverse Events at Hospitals and Outpatient Surgical Facilities. Proponents argue that the bill would close important loopholes in the current weak hospital system reporting including public reporting of errors — so consumers could use the information in their medical decisions and put pressure on hospitals…
Read MoreQuality and Valerie Jarrett at Families
Regions of the US with higher health care spending actually have worse health outcomes, according to Elliott Fisher from Dartmouth. Friday’s Families conference started with a fascinating plenary about the disconnect between what we spend on health care and what we get, followed by concrete guidance for providers who want to improve the quality of…
Read MoreCT’s hospital safety system questioned
Media reports have raised concerns about patient safety in CT hospitals and the system that is meant to protect us. A Hartford Courant article on Sunday uncovered thousands of “adverse events” or dangerous mistakes at CT hospitals that were never reported to DPH. A 2002 law mandated public reporting of serious errors, but a 2004…
Read MoreNovember CT health policy quiz
Test your knowledge of the CT health system’s performance. Take the November CT Health Policy Project web quiz.
Read MoreNew resource for CT physicians on quality of care
eHealthCT together with a long list of partners is providing physicians with quality measures for their practices across payers through a new iniative, CT Health Quality Cooperative (CHQC). CHQC is the first of its kind tool in Connecticut and one of only a handful nationally to aggregate data across health plans and Medicare to provide…
Read MoreValue-based purchasing and VT health care reform updates
Our second day of health panels at last week’s CSG/ERC annual meeting in Burlington VT started with a set of talks on value-based purchasing and how states can take advantage of this critical health reform trend. Value-based purchasing reorients financial incentives to align all stakeholders and reward improvements in health. The current fee-for-service system rewards…
Read MoreNew from Health Affairs –6.9 million more uninsured Americans by 2010, MA reform benefits continue, and cost does not equal quality in health care
Study predicts US uninsured to grow to 52 million by the end of next year A study published today predicts that due to rising health care costs, by the end of 2010 another 6.9 million Americans will be uninsured, bringing the rate to 19.2%. For every 1% increase in health costs relative to income, another…
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