The start of 2019 marks the first time clinicians and practices that participated in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) will receive a payment adjustment based on 2017 performance. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reports that 93% of 2017 MIPS participants will receive a positive payment adjustment of up to 1.88% this year.
Infection prevention policies in operating rooms are inconsistent, report shows
Arlington, Va. (December 11, 2018) — The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America has issued a new expert guidance on how hospitals and healthcare providers may reduce infections associated with anesthesiology procedures and equipment in the operating room. The Guidance, published in SHEA’s journal, Infection Control & Healthcare Epidemiology, recommends steps to improve infection prevention through increased hand hygiene, environmental disinfection, and continuous improvement plans.
The national anesthesia conversion factor (CF) rose 0.27 percent to $22.27 from $22.19 in 2018
The severe shortage of sodium chloride 0.9% IV bags and other saline bags due in large part to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria on pharmaceutical plants in Puerto Rico offers one of the more unsettling recent examples. (The commonwealth manufactures more pharmaceuticals for the United States than any of the 50 states or any foreign country.)
Are you ready to be unreasonable this year? Or would you rather continue to bet on the healthcare status quo, that is, on a hospital-centric system? Or, is being “unreasonable” actually more reasonable?
