The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has launched an aggressive, multi-media anti-tobacco educational campaign. Described as “ground-breaking,” the 12-week Tips From Former Smokers campaign features highly-explicit, first-person videos featuring real-life victims describing the ravages of illnesses caused by smoking, including cancer, heart attack, stroke, asthma and Buerger’s disease. Outreach includes television, radio,… Continue Reading
IPRO Reaches Highest External Satisfaction Rates
IPRO’s latest surveys of collaborator and customers demonstrate the highest rates of satisfaction the organization has ever achieved. Collaborators are defined as provider representatives who work closely with IPRO on quality improvement initiatives at the state and federal level. With nearly a thousand surveys sent out last fall, IPRO achieved a 35% collaborator response rate,… Continue Reading
Researchers Urge More Infection Reporting
Most U.S. states still don’t require monitoring and reporting of surgical site infections and of the 21 states that do, only eight make the information easily accessible to consumers. That’s the conclusion of researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who conducted their nationwide survey last fall. Researchers found that for the eight… Continue Reading
IPRO’s Annual Meeting Set for June 5th
IPRO’s 28th Annual Membership Meeting will be held June 5, 2012 from 12:30PM to 3:00PM. at the LaGuardia Marriott Hotel in East Elmhurst, New York. Included will be presentations of this year’s Quality Awards, recognizing outstanding contributions by healthcare providers from across the state. Registration check-in begins at 11:30AM, followed by a complimentary luncheon at… Continue Reading
Punitive Culture Undermines QI-AHRQ
Hospitals need to do a better job of assuring staff members that if they report patient safety problems, the information won’t be used against them, according to a new report from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The report highlights findings from the most recent edition of the Hospital Survey on Patient… Continue Reading
Advocates Urge Quality Oversight of Exchanges
Leading consumer advocates are arguing that the federal government will need to take an aggressive approach to regulating new health plan quality performance requirements included in the Affordable Care Act. Writing online in the February 29 Health Affairs Blog, Consumers’ CHECKBOOK Executive Robert Krughoff and colleagues assert that the government must issue regulations requiring “comparable,… Continue Reading
Professional Society Announces Payment Commission
A professional society is in the process of creating a national commission that will recommend reforms to physician payment in the U.S. The National Commission on Physician Payment Reform is a creation of the Washington DC-based Society of General Internal Medicine. Noting that healthcare spending is scheduled to reach $4.5 trillion in 2019, the Commission’s… Continue Reading
IPRO Champions Statewide Drug Events Task Force
IPRO is launching a major initiative aimed at reducing warfarin-related adverse drug events across the state of New York. As the Medicare-funded Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for New York, IPRO is charged with working with providers to improve the quality of care provided to New York’s seniors. Anticoagulation therapy is prescribed for the prevention of… Continue Reading
IPRO Achieves Management Certification
IPRO’s Quality Management System (QMS) has been certified as meeting the requirements of the internationally-recognized management audit program known as ISO 9001:2008. Under the terms of the onsite review conducted by SGS International Certification Services this past fall, IPRO’s QMS was found to meet ISO requirements for provision of healthcare services including the design, development… Continue Reading
IPRO Wins PA Medicaid Evaluation Contract
IPRO has won a three year renewal of a major contract with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to review the quality of services provided to Medicaid recipients enrolled in managed care plans across that state. Under the terms of the External Quality Review Organization (EQRO) contract, IPRO will evaluate how well health plans manage specific clinical… Continue Reading