Medicare Targets Avoidable Hospital Readmissions to Jumpstart Delivery Reform

Apr 17, 2009 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology

Bundled Payment Demonstration Project Changes How Labs Would Be Paid Efforts in the nation’s capital to reform healthcare are still in the formative stage as the new President and the new Congress consider various approaches. Meanwhile, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) started the new year by launching pilots for a bundled-service payment scheme. Not only may this be the beginning of the end of the fee-for-service payment system, but it has important implications...

Reducing Hospital Readmission: How Hospitals and Insurers are Making Strides

Oct 8, 2008 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology

After discharge, almost one in six patients land back in the hospital due to complications that could have been prevented with better follow-up care! According to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), nearly 18% of Medicare patients admitted to a hospital are readmitted within 30 days of discharge, accounting for $15 billion in spending, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission http://www.medpac.gov/. Now, regulators, insurers, employers, and quality-measurement groups...
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