Amid the healthcare industry’s efforts to reduce the overuse of emergency departments, a new poll indicates too many patients may seek treatment at urgent care centers instead, possibly posing a risk to their health. The poll, conducted by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP...
CMS has released a proposal to strengthen the Shared Savings Program for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) by placing more emphasis on primary care services and promoting transitions to performance-based risk arrangements. CMS proposes to refine the way Medicare beneficiaries are assigned to...
About 50,000 people are alive today because U.S. hospitals committed 17% fewer medical errors in 2013 than in 2010, government health officials said on Tuesday. The lower rate of fatalities from poor care and mistakes was one of several "historic improvements" in hospital quality and safety...
December marks the 15th anniversary of “To Err is Human: Building A Safer Health System,” the landmark report from the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine that estimated up to 98,000 Americans die from preventable mistakes in hospitals every year. “It is time to know if...
This may not be credentialing-specific news, but it will likely boost patient satisfaction scores. Michigan’s Henry Ford Health System will adopt a new hospital gown that aims to put the wraps on a big source of patients’ grumbles—a lack of rear coverage. Resembling a wrap-around robe, the "...
More than half the dermatologists in 12 Medicare Advantage plan directories were dead, retired, not accepting new patients, or specialized only in specific conditions, according to a study published last week in JAMA Dermatology online. Researchers also found that about 46% of the...
