Cardiovascular Quality and Research News

ACC CV Quality SmartBrief

The ACC CV Quality SmartBrief eNewsletter is a free, twice-weekly briefing for health care stakeholders interested in quality care. Learn more about the ACC CV Quality SmartBrief and subscribe.

• Providers focus on social determinants of health as APMs gain traction

  Medicare, Medicaid and commercial health insurers' embrace of advanced payment models is encouraging accountable care organizations, hospitals and other health care providers to focus more on social determinants of health, particularly in Vermont and other states with CMS innovation waivers. Health care providers are covering the costs of housing, offering boxes of fresh produce and assisting with social support services for high-risk patients. The Washington Post (tiered subscription model) (9/17) Learn More

• Hospitals seek more integrated care to reduce readmissions

  Hospitals faced with readmission penalties and other Affordable Care Act incentives are looking for ways to better integrate care, such as following up with patients after discharge, said Dr. West Paul, vice president of quality and patient safety at WakeMed Health & Hospitals. Community groups also work with patients to make sure their basic living and health care needs are met, while emergency medical services agencies provide non-emergency care that keeps people out of the hospital. WUNC-FM (Chapel Hill, N.C.) (9/15) Learn More

• Hospital uses QI initiative to reduce NICU X-rays, costs

  Children's National Health System in Washington, D.C., implemented a quality improvement initiative that reduced the number of chest X-rays done on NICU patients and associated costs, researchers reported at the American Academy of Pediatrics annual meeting. The initiative was part of a larger program to reduce unintended extubations. Becker's Hospital Review (9/18) Learn More

• ACC to work with ABIM to develop flexible MOC pathways

  The American Board of Internal Medicine is working with the American College of Cardiology, the American College of Physicians and the American Society of Clinical Oncology to find "collaborative maintenance pathways" for board certification. Each specialty group will focus on creating a maintenance of certification process that gives physicians flexibility when demonstrating that they are meeting standards and staying current on medical knowledge. Medscape (free registration) (9/13) Learn More

• Collaboration improves outcomes for CICU patients, study says

  A University of Maryland Medical Center study found collaboration between intensivists and cardiologists improved outcomes for heart patients on mechanical ventilation in a cardiac ICU and reduced costs by more than $4 million a year, according to a report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Breathing tubes were removed more quickly and patients were discharged from the CICU about two days sooner. Pulmonary Hypertension News (9/13) Learn More

• EHR-based clinical data more accurate in tracking sepsis incidence, study finds

  Clinical data from EHRs showed a relatively stable incidence of sepsis between 2009 and 2014, compared with a 10.3% increase via medical claims data, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers analyzed data from 2,901,019 patients across 409 hospitals in the US and found that clinical data also indicated no significant change in patients discharged to hospice and a drop in hospital deaths, while claims data showed a significant decline in both discharge to hospice and hospital deaths. Becker's Hospital Review (9/15) Learn More

• ONC examines HIE use among US public health agencies

  EHR Intelligence (9/13) Learn More