In a potential major policy change, the Washington DC-based National Quality Forum (NQF) is considering whether to recognize socioeconomic risk adjustments to the outcomes measures it endorses. Traditionally, NQF has taken the position that including health status risk factors in measuring outcomes runs the risk of rationalizing poor performance, and/or “masking disparities” by permitting different… Continue Reading
Foundation Now Offers County-Based Data
A landmark website created by IPRO for the New York City-based Commonwealth Fund now includes quality performance information ranked by U.S. counties. Newly updated data on WhyNotTheBest.org compare the health of residents in counties across the United States, showcasing, for example, rates of preventable hospitalizations and the percent of adults reporting to be in fair… Continue Reading
CMS Names New Case Review Contractors
Senior managers at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have announced new Medicare QIO case review contract awards to two organizations that will be responsible for five newly-created geographic regions encompassing the entire U.S. Previously, QIOs were defined as state-based organizations responsible for conducting Medicare case reviews as well as working collaboratively on… Continue Reading
Feds Cite Sharp Drop in Hospital-Acquired Conditions
Preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services credits Medicare-funded Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) and Hospital Engagement Network (HEN) contractors with contributing to a nine percent decrease in hospital-acquired conditions nationally during 2011 and 2012. HHS posits that fewer adverse drug events, falls, infections, and other forms of hospital-induced harm resulted… Continue Reading
IPRO Coalition Develops Clinical Tool
A new, free-of-charge tool designed by the IPRO-led New York State Anticoagulation Coalition will enable clinicians to more easily determine how, whether and when to stop the use of warfarin and other anticoagulants prior to surgery and interventional procedures. Creators of this unique tool, known as “MAP” (Managing Anticoagulation in the Peri-Procedural Period), believe it… Continue Reading
Mostashari Keynotes IPRO Annual Meeting
Nationally-recognized health information technology expert Farzad Mostashari, MD, MSc will keynote IPRO’s 30th Anniversary Annual Meeting, to be held June 3rd at the New York LaGuardia Airport in East Elmhurst, NY. Dr. Mostashari is a Visiting Fellow of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution. Dr. Mostashari’s work covers a range… Continue Reading
IPRO Mourns Death of Board Member, Patient Advocate
Kathe LeBeau, a Member of IPRO’s Corporate Board of Directors and Chair of IPRO’s End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network 2 Patient Advisory Committee, passed away suddenly on Monday, March 17, 2014. Ms. LeBeau was previously a patient advocate with the Renal Support Network in Glendale, CA, and Patient Services and Public Policy Director for the… Continue Reading
Feds Change Quality Finding Disclosure Policy
CMS is clarifying a key change in how QIOs like IPRO are directed to handle Medicare quality of care complaints lodged by patients and their families. Previously, QIOs were barred from disclosing the details of adverse findings against physicians or practitioners without the permission of the physician or practitioner in question. The new process, effective… Continue Reading
NY State, Foundation Announce Online Competition
The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and a New York City-based Foundation have announced a competition under which teams of coders and application developers will be graded on their ability to create online tools that help non-specialists analyze the cost, quality and efficiency of hospital procedures. The four-month competition announced by NYSDOH, and… Continue Reading
Advocate Underscores Senior Appeals Rights
Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) like IPRO are available to help seniors who wish to file expedited appeals of recent adverse Medicare coverage decisions, notes a blogger/columnist in the New York Times. Medicare policy revisions made in the wake of a settlement of the Jimmo federal class-action lawsuit specify that beneficiaries need not demonstrate ability to… Continue Reading