Evidence Based Medicine

Leaders at the American Health Quality Association recently showcased the release of an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that documented an impressive decline in avoidable hospitalizations and readmissions among Medicare patients in communities in which Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) have coordinated interventions that engaged whole communities in care improvement.

Whether it’s through better communication or simple amenities, even the most optimistic leader at a hospital will tell you there is no perfect path to perfect patient satisfaction. However, thanks to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) mandatory Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) program, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) initiative, hospitals across the country are certainly going to try to achieve that formula.

As the healthcare industry moves forward to meet the demands of purchasers and payers for higher-quality, more effective, more cost-effective patient care with fewer errors and better care coordination, it is sobering to read the results of recent studies that show that improving clinical performance does not necessarily lead to the prevention of avoidable readmissions.

In a recent webinar, an analyst for Frost & Sullivan talked about how thanks to a variety of factors, there has never been a better opportunity for mHealth applications to change the way chronic diseases are treated. After listening to this webinar, I can’t say I disagree.

Lisa Khorey, vice president of enterprise systems and data management at the University of Pittsburgh Medical center (UPMC) health system, shares her perspectives on what made her and her colleagues move forward on a five-year, $100 million enterprise healthcare analytics initiative