Medicare's Readmission Penalties Hit New High

Medicare measures the readmission rates of seven conditions: heart attacks, heart failure, pneumonia, chronic lung disease, hip and knee replacements and coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Fines are determined by comparing current rates to records from July 2012 to  June 2015. Hospitals with more unplanned readmissions than expected will receive a reimbursement reduction for each Medicare case during the upcoming fiscal year, which runs Oct. 1 through September 2017.

5 statistics on this topic:

  1. Medicare expects hospitals' penalties to total $528 million in 2016, about $108 million more than last year.
  2. CMS will penalize 2,597 facilities in FY 2017, five more hospitals than last year.
  3. According to KHN's analysis, 1,621 hospitals have faced penalties every year in the five years of the program.
  4. Forty-nine hospitals will receive the maximum reduction in reimbursement, or three percent of the Medicare rate. That is up from thirty eight hospitals that received the largest penalty last year.
  5. The average reduction to hospitals was 0.73 percent for each Medicare payment, up from 0.61 percent last year.

Reducing the spread of infection can reduce hospital readmissions. Whole room disinfection with ultraviolet C can lower the spread of infection within healthcare facilities. 

To learn more about Medicare penalties for hospital readmission in 30 days: Click Here

 

Shift Workers Beware of Infections Risk!

In todays age, people are working around the clock, literally. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics roughly 7 million Americans work the night shift. With such a large nocturnal population, people should be aware of the additional susceptibility to the risk of infection. A new study published by the University of Cambridge found that the body clock affected the ability of viruses to replicate and speed between cells.

Infectious Disease Mortality Rates Have Flat Lined Since The 1950s - December 9, 2016

When mentioning the topic of infectious diseases and how they have affected the population over the last century, most people would be surprised to learn that the number of deaths caused by infectious disease is similar today to the number it was 60 years ago. According to a report recently published in the journal of the American Medical Association, infectious disease accounted for 5.4 percent of deaths from

C. diff Infections Cause Patient Cost and Mortality to Double

A recent study published in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology examined the impact that C. diff infections have on the patient population. Utilizing data from a population-based cohort study among US adults, researchers found that that each year c. diff infections nearly double the patient cost and mortality chances.
Page: 1234567 - All