Hospitals & health networks / AHA
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Insurers are using their purchasing power and their enormous stores of claims data to push hospitals to improve quality. Health plans are able to parse the data according to such quality indicators as cost, length of stay and outcomes. Hospitals are wary of the trend, but some welcome it, especially if insurers use the so-called pay-for-performance model.
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With overcrowding the single-most difficult issue now confronting emergency departments, innovative hospitals are experimenting with everything from new technology to redeploying staff to redesigning processes and work areas.
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As more states mandate the reporting of health care-acquired infections and CMS spearheads a voluntary reporting initiative, hospitals ask: Is a patchwork of state regulations better than a nationwide mandatory or voluntary system? And when does all of this lead to "analysis paralysis," hindering hospitals' performance-improvement efforts?
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Based on research and data from 60 nationally recognized sources, this annual tool identifies health care trends to help hospitals develop their strategic plans.