FAST FACTS
• As many as 98,000 deaths a year are attributed to medical errors, according to a study conducted by the Quality of Health Care in America Committee of the Institute of Medicine.
• Hospitals across the United States are continually seeking to enhance quality improvement and patient safety as outlined in quality and safety initiatives established by the Institute of Healthcare Improvement and core measures established by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
• Select hospitals across New England are demonstrating their commitment to quality health care improvement and patient safety through adherence to defined process of care measures and participation in national initiatives to promote quality assurance.
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FAST FACTS
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) believes the new Alternative Quality Contract (AQC) “can cut in half the current medical cost trend, which has been rising at rates up to 12% annually.”1
• Under the AQC, nationally accepted measures of quality, effectiveness, and patient experience of care are used to evaluate and reward provider performance in the form of bonuses of up to 10% of the cost of care provided.
• The AQC is designed so that employers and patients can save money by controlling health insurance premium growth; the health plan can benefit by achieving cost savings and shifting risk to providers; and providers can earn budget surplus and performance bonus payments.
• Features have been built into the new AQC by BCBSMA to differentiate it from failed 1990s capitation plans.» Full Article
FAST FACTS
• More than 150,000 pharmacist positions are predicted to go unfilled as of 2020.
• Americans in their 70s and 80s take 15–20 prescriptions a year on average.
• Approximately 7,000 deaths a year in the United States are attributed to medication errors.
• Pharmacists play a key role in reducing medication errors, educating the public about medication usage, and helping the medically uninsured and underinsured.» Full Article
FAST FACTS
• The Neurobehavioral Program at the Hospital for Special Care (HSC) fills the needs of an underserved population—post-acute rehabilitation patients with acquired brain injury who have problems living in the community.
• The long-term immersion environment and multidisciplinary team approach make the Neurobehavioral Program unique in the region.
• The HSC has developed an outreach screening program for veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who suffer unrecognized symptoms of traumatic brain injury. » Full Article
View health care related press releases from Western and Central Massachusetts, and Connecticut. » Full Article
