tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post1189534978542922978..comments2024-03-18T06:27:51.599-04:00Comments on Not Running a Hospital: I told you so, 20 years laterPaul Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065446378970179507noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-29233982611938172702014-05-20T16:53:21.757-04:002014-05-20T16:53:21.757-04:00Disgraceful and disappointing action from the AG o...Disgraceful and disappointing action from the AG on protecting the public trust.<br /><br />The silence on this topic from the broader community is shocking. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-73060669408720700412014-05-19T21:29:40.876-04:002014-05-19T21:29:40.876-04:00If PHS successfully locked in above market reimbur...If PHS successfully locked in above market reimbursement rates for years to come, it still seems to me that regulators, competing hospitals and insurers have other options to create countervailing power. To do this, they need to develop and publish meaningful quality metrics that speak to patient outcomes including preventable readmission rates and infection rates. Make it clear that all competitors have comparable competence in imaging ranging from equally sophisticated equipment to comparable quality techs and radiologists. The same is likely true for labs and rehab centers.<br /><br />For sophisticated procedures like organ transplants, publish the number of procedures CMS claims each center needs to perform annually to keep each team’s skills sharp and compare that to the number of procedures actually performed. If I needed one of these procedures, I would not feel confident about going to a center that only does a handful of operations each year or less regardless of what the surgeons claim.<br /><br />For insurers, let people know how much lower premiums would be for networks that don’t include PHS. Eventually, with enough accurate information, both employers and individual patients should wake up and ask why are we paying a large and apparently unjustified extra premium to have PHS in our network? The combination of price and quality transparency could eventually overcome market distortions that regulators wouldn’t or couldn’t fix because of the power of special interests.<br />Barry Carolnoreply@blogger.com