In 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) introduced the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) to improve the quality of patient care in order to prevent unplanned readmissions within 30 days of treatment for the following six conditions: acute myocardial infarction (AMI), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure (HF), pneumonia, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, elective primary total hip arthroplasty and/or total knee arthroplasty (THA/TKA). Each hospital is scored every 3 years against a nation-wide weighted average of re-admission rates, and hospitals above this average are penalized up to 3%. In fiscal year 2021, 2,545 hospitals have been fined for excess readmissions.
In 2014, the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program (HACRP) was initiated by Medicare to penalize hospitals that fall into the worst performing quartile as measured by HAC quality measures. The HAC score is calculated from two measurements: 1) a claims-based measure of patient safety, the so-called recalibrated patient safety indicator (PSI) and 2) laboratory-measured hospital acquired infections including a) central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), b) catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), c) surgical site infection (SSI) – colon and hysterectomy, d) methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia, and e) clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Hospitals are scored annually and if they fall within the worst 25% of all hospitals measured, a 1% reduction in hospital reimbursement claims is the penalty. In fiscal year 2021, 774 hospitals received cuts in CMS reimbursement due to low HAC scores.
Microlyte® Surgical is an economical and patient friendly antimicrobial bioresorbable wound matrix that may reduce hospital acquired infections at your hospital. It is 99.99% effective against a broad spectrum of surgical wound-related microbes including Staphylococcus aureus, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Candida tropicalis, and Candida albicans. Both animal and clinical studies demonstrate effectiveness in reducing wound bioburden, as well as, accelerating wound closure- which are two useful features when the goal is to keep pathogens out of the body after surgical procedures.
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References
Ellison, A. CMS cuts payments to 774 hospitals over patient complications. 2021 [cited 2021 2/21/2021]; Available from: https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/cms-cuts-payments-to-774-hospitals-over-patient-complications.html.
Ellison, A. CMS fines 2,545 hospitals for high readmissions: 5 things to know. 2020 [cited 2021 02/21/21]; Available from: https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/cms-fines-2-545-hospitals-for-high-readmissions-5-things-to-know.html?utm_campaign=bhr&utm_source=website&utm_content=related.
Services, C.f.M.M. Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program (HACRP). 2020 02/21/2021]; Available from: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/AcuteInpatientPPS/HAC-Reduction-Program.