EHR Analysis Improves Complication Tracking

August 23, 2011 — Analysis of electronic medical records (EMRs) with natural language processing shows an improved ability to identify postoperative surgical complications compared with the standard method of relying on administrative data codes, according to a new study published in the August 24/31 issue of JAMA.

In efforts to improve patient safety, hospital administrative data are typically screened for codes that may reflect potential adverse events during hospitalization, and a quality surveillance tool developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has refined that process to focus on a set of 20 patient safety indicators used in screening the data.

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Hospitals Pay Physicians in Medicare Bundled Payment Model

August 24, 2011 — Physicians would get reimbursed by an admitting hospital instead of byMedicare for inpatient care they deliver to seniors, under 1 of 4 models of pilot projects for bundled payments that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled yesterday.

In this particular model, hospitals would receive a predetermined or prospective payment for all the services furnished during a particular kind of inpatient episode (eg, a hip replacement), and would pay physicians and other providers out of that fixed amount.

Healthcare reform legislation passed in 2010 calls for pilot projects to test the concept of bundled payments in Medicare. At this time, when a senior undergoes a course of treatment, the various providers involved are paid separately by Medicare, which, according to CMS officials, is a formula for uncoordinated, inefficient care. By letting providers divide a single payment, CMS hopes to motivate them to cooperate to improve quality and lower costs, as opposed to simply increasing the volume of services to earn more.

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