HealthGrades names 'Top 50' hospitals
Golden, CO-based HealthGrades Inc. has identified "America's Best 50 Hospitals" based on the analysis of about 90 million hospitalization records from nearly 5,000 hospitals over the years 1999-2005. The list, says HealthGrades, not only includes a number of well-known facilities, but also some facilities that are lesser-known nationally. (A full copy of the analysis is available at www.healthgrades.com.)
In order to place in the top 50, a hospital must have patient outcomes that are in the top 5% in the nation the most consecutive times over the past five years. HealthGrades uses objective outcomes data from the federal government, and the mortality and complication rates that reflect how patients fared at the nation's non-federal hospitals.
HealthGrades' annual assessment of mortality and complication rates analyzes 26 procedures and diagnoses and then risk-adjusts the data.
"For a hospital's patient outcomes to be in the top 5% in the nation one year is truly an achievement," said HealthGrades' chief medical officer, Samantha Collier. "To achieve this level of high quality year over year for five consecutive years is astounding. These hospitals highlight what is possible when organizational attention to quality is deliberate and intentional every day."
NCQA to require quality data for accreditation
All health plans seeking accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) would be required to report on the quality of care delivered to patients under proposed requirements issued on Feb. 15, 2007. Under the new program, NCQA will evaluate PPOs on the same set of standards, clinical measures, and patient experience ratings on which NCQA has evaluated HMOs and POS plans.
"Today's confusing alphabet soup of plan types and names often distracts from what people really need to know," said Margaret E. O'Kane, NCQA president. "It doesn't matter what a plan calls itself; what matters to patients is how well they perform."
Under the proposed standards, PPOs seeking NCQA accreditation would be required to report clinical quality results using NCQA's Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS). Plans also would be required to report results from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAPHS), which evaluates patients' experience with care and service.
To further tie accreditation to improved health, NCQA also proposes to increase its emphasis on HEDIS and CAHPS in its health plan accreditation programs. Currently, HEDIS and CAHPS scores represent about one-third of the score a health plan needs to become accredited. Beginning in 2008, that proportion would rise sharply to 50%.
Following a 30-day public comment period, NCQA plans to release final standards July 2007, to take effect on July 1, 2008.
CMS offers guidance on HIPAA security rule
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released guidance to help organizations comply with HIPAA security standards when they allow remote access to electronic protected health information (EPHI) through portable devices or external systems or hardware.
Entities covered by HIPAA should be "extremely cautious," CMS said, about allowing offsite use of or access to EPHI , and must implement policies and procedures to protect EPHI that is stored on remote or portable devices/media or transmitted over an electronic communications network.
The agency said it may rely on the guidance in determining whether actions by a HIPAA-covered entity are reasonable and appropriate for safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of EPHI.
On-line NPI information available through WEDI
Health care providers can receive free on-line information about the National Provider Identifier (NPI) in the form of on-demand audio and video web casts.
The service is being offered by the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association to help educate providers on how to obtain and implement their NPI by the May 23, 2007, deadline, according to a WEDI statement.
Only about 60% of providers had obtained their NPI by the beginning of 2007, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates. All entities covered by HIPAA, including providers, health plans, and clearinghouses that process health care transactions using HIPAA format, must implement the 10-digit NPI code by the May 23 deadline.
Two 60-minute webcast audio or video sessions are available: one for large practices or institutional providers, and a second version tailored for individual providers or small group practices. The webcasts, which include PowerPoint materials, cover these topics:
- Who Needs an NPI?
- The Application Process
- Obtaining and Sharing NPIs
- NPI and Paper Claim Submitters
- Provider Practice Considerations and Impacts
- Resources and General Questions
In addition to offering the webcasts, WEDI's NPI Outreach Initiative will respond on an ongoing basis to questions submitted via the Q&A feature of the webcast sessions.
HealthGrades names 'Top 50' hospitals; NCQA to require quality data for accreditation; CMS offers guidance on HIPAA security rule; On-line NPI information available through WEDIYou have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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