- How Christiana Care reduced its Medicare readmission rate by 30 percent. Christiana Care Health System cut its Medicare 90-day readmission rate by 30 percent by integrating information technology (IT) into its patient discharge process, Andis Robeznieks writes for Hospitals & Health Networks. Under the new program, Christiana Care uses the IT system to ensure all participating patients can make their follow-up appointments and to notify patients' primary care providers in real time about any other health care interactions the patient has had. And while other discharge programs often end at the point of discharge, Christiana Care officials said the new program aims to address post-discharge issues, such as transportation and financial barriers to care.
- C-TAC launches campaign to improve advanced care. The Coalition to Transform Advanced Care on Wednesday launched a national campaign aimed at improving care for advanced illnesses through a combination of policy change, state and community organization, and caregiver support, AHA News reports. According to AHA News, the policy agenda is focused on "delivery system reform, preference-driven care, caregiver and consumer support, and professional engagement," and has an overarching aim to establish a Medicare advanced care demonstration.
- Stakeholders comment on ACA's restrictions on physician-owned hospitals. Multiple health system executives have responded to CMS' request for comment on rules established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that restrict how physicians can expand hospitals they own. According to Modern Healthcare's Virgil Dickson, the ACA restrictions were designed to address concerns that physicians would refer healthier patients to their own facilities and send sicker patients elsewhere, skewing a bias in quality scores and forcing other hospitals to care for more costly patients. Some respondents, citing research indicating physicians don't engage in such self-preferential behavior, said eliminating the rules could lead to Medicare savings by increasing market competition, while others said easing the rules could enable Medicare abuse.
From Advisory Board:
- Become a post-acute population manager. With uncertainty around the speed of value-based payment implementation, progressive organizations may be tempted to skip ahead and take on full accountability for the outcomes of a subset of patients—which is not a decision to be made lightly. Join us on July 11 for a webconference about how providers can position themselves for flexibility in their current pursuits and growth in future endeavors
- What does health care reform beyond the ACA look like? Join our new webconference series. Across this eight-part series, we'll recap the key insights and top case studies from our new research presentations, focusing on how to position hospitals and health systems for long-term success amid political uncertainty.
- MACRA: What the 2018 proposed rule means for providers. Join us on July 11 to get an overview of the most important implications of the proposed rule for provider organizations, a review of key changes to the MIPS and APM tracks for the 2018 performance year, as well as guidance on navigating the transition to risk-based payment and the evolution of hospital-physician alignment.