Joint Commission reports patient care improved in 2009

In the past seven years, U.S. hospitals have steadily improved the quality of patient care, according to “Improving America’s Hospitals: The Joint Commission’s Report on Quality and Safety 2009.” The Joint Commission tracks 31 measures in its annual report and more than 3,000 accredited hospitals contributed data. The Joint Commission issued its first report on quality and safety in 2002.

NCQA’s State of Health Care Quality

NCQA’s State of Health Care Quality report is produced annually to monitor and report on performance trends over time, track variations in patterns of care, and provide recommendations for future quality improvement. Now in its 13th year, the report provides an exclusive look at the performance data submitted by more than 800 health plans around the country.

Leapfrog names 45 best hospitals in country for 2009

Thirty-four urban, eight children’s and three rural hospitals have been named 2009 Leapfrog Top Hospitals, based on results from The Leapfrog Hospital Survey. The survey is the only national, public comparison of hospitals on key issues including mortality rates for certain common procedures, infection rates, safety practices, and measures of efficiency

America’s Health Rankings ^TM

America’s Health Rankings ^TM is the longest running annual assessment of the nation`s health on a state-by-state basis. Over the past 20 years, America`s Health Rankings^TM has evolved from a source of information for limited audiences to a robust, interactive tool that urges all populations and communities to take action to improve health. The rankings are published jointly by United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention.  It provides state-specific rankings from one to 50 across a variety of national health benchmarks. 

Experts weigh costs, saving of disease management programs

Disease management programs cost companies and government agencies $2.5 billion a year, and while some in-house research shows significant savings, other analysts say the high cost of the programs can make savings negligible. Congress and the Obama administration are considering plans to support disease management programs through Medicare spending and employer incentives.

CCMC Accepting Applications for Board of Commissioners

The Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC) is pleased to announce the opportunity for individuals interested in voluntary service as strategic decision makers for the first and largest case manager certification program in the United States. Candidates must submit their completed application by April 1, 2010. Interested individuals can obtain an application by visiting www.ccmcertification.org. For questions or assistance, please contact Danielle Gentile at 856-642-4404 or by email at ccmchq@ccmcertification.org.

Law Requires Parity of Mental and Substance Abuse Benefits

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 prohibits group health insurance plans from restricting access to care by limiting benefits and requiring higher patient costs for mental health and substance abuse disorders compared with those costs that apply to general medical or surgical benefits.

Health centers are cost-effective ways to expand access to care

A report in the journal Health Affairs said community health centers are a cost-effective way to increase access to care in the U.S. The study said a $500,000 increase in funding for the centers would translate into treatment for an extra 540 uninsured patients. 

Advantages of the middle-aged brain

Young people generally have more energy and technological adaptability, but recent discoveries in brain science show that middle-aged entrepreneurs have advantages of their own. Millions of neural pathways developed over the years make older brains better at building vocabulary, inductive reasoning and other functions, writes Barbara Strauch, author of an upcoming book on the subject.

It’s time to start learning from the next generation

In a rapidly evolving business world, entrepreneurs have plenty to learn from their younger employees, Art Petty writes. Making good use of the “millennial” generation’s knowledge of technology and social networking will prove essential for businesses seeking to adapt, he writes.

A gray tide rising: The aging of the workforce

Business leaders are unprepared for the challenges posed by a rapidly aging workforce, declares The Economist. The “silver tsunami” will make current business models redundant and require managers to ease elderly workers out of prime positions without cutting them off from the workforce altogether. “Most people understand about the aging of society in the abstract,” The Economist argues. “But few have grasped either the size of the tsunami or the extent of its consequences.”

Editor’s Note: Case In Point covered this topic in an article titled Uplifting the Aging Workforce by Dorothy Consonery-Fairnot, BS, MSHA, RN, CCM, CLNC.