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VHIG Digest: Volume 2, No. 1
Jan. 10, 2011—1. Wall Street Journal investigates controversy over rates of spinal fusion surgery A December 20th article in the Wall Street Journal reported on an unusually high rate of spinal fusion surgeries at Norton Hospital in Louisville, Ky. Five spinal surgeons there contributed to giving Norton the distinction of having the third-highest rate of spinal fusion surgeries of any U.S. hospital. Central to this controversy is that in 2010 these surgeons received over $7 million from Medtronic, Inc, the manufacturer of the spinal fusion device the surgeons used.Spinal fusion surgery, which involves fusing 2 or more vertebrae in patients with significant back pain, is a particularly controversial operation due to limited evidence of its effectiveness, especially as an indication for patients with degenerative disk disease. The article touches on the problem of financial incentives and the extent to which they affect volume of procedures.
Updates from the IHI National Forum, December 5-8, 2010
Dec. 17, 2010—We recently returned from the IHI National Forum in Orlando, FL and have some great news to share: 1. We made the IHI Annual Report! There is a great spread with a photo of us and article about us in the report, which was under everyone’s seat at the National Forum’s first keynote address. See...
VHIG Digest: Volume 1, No. 4
Dec. 13, 2010—By Tim Lockney, VMS II In the News 1. IHI Forum Reflections: 10 ‘Aha’ Moments (12/9) A near-record number of almost 6,000 plus physicians, hospital chiefs, nursing executives and others responsible for quality and patient satisfaction attended the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s 22nd annual quality forum this December, the first IHI forum to be held since the passage...
VHIG Digest: Volume 1, No. 3
Nov. 29, 2010—By Piotr Pilarski, VMS IV In the News 1. New CMS Rule Requires Hospitals to Respect Visitation and Medical Decision-Making Rights of Same-Sex Couples – 11/18/10 With approximately 7,600 “overwhelmingly favorable” comments from various health care constituents and unanimous support from hospital groups, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) passed a rule that will require...
VHIG Digest: Volume 1, No. 2
Nov. 15, 2010—By Irving Ye, MD/MBA Candidate 2012 In the News 1. VA Health System Shines in Quality-of-Care Study (11/9) A report in the November issue of the national publication Medical Care finds that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health system generally outperforms the private sector in following recommended processes for patient care. The study authors,...
VHIG Digest: Volume 1, No. 1
Nov. 1, 2010—By Matt Kynes, VMS IV In the News… 1. Joint Commission Targets Patient Hand-Offs – 10/21/10 The Joint Commission released a progress report on their initiative to improve patient hand-offs. In collaboration with 10 hospital systems, they reported that hand-offs were deficient 37% of the time. Common reasons cited for defective hand-offs included “an institutional...