Friday, December 30, 2011

Health Issues to be Reviewed in 2012


The Office of Inspector General (OIG) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will be looking at certain health issues come 2012.  

The OIG was created in order to protect the integrity of programs within the department, and has many work plans to focus on. 

One thing that the OIG will look into is how accurately hospitals are reporting “present-on-arrival” indicators on claims that are submitted to Medicare and Medicaid. These indicators show which diagnoses were present on a patient at the time of admission and which ones developed as a result of hospital stay. OIG will review both medical claims and medical records for research.  

Another area that will be reviewed is the quality of care and safety that Medicare beneficiaries receive when transferred from hospitals to nursing homes. Rates of preventable hospital readmissions will be one of the things that will be looked at.  

Reports on these issues above, as well as others, will be released throughout 2012.  

Photo: Jose Goulao, Flickr 

At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We are patient safety advocates who represent patients who have been harmed by hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed or injured from a hospital error, please contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.  

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.
602-224-0005

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