The Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) recently announced a major change in the way
providers will be reimbursed. In an article posted 4/29/11 on www.healthcare.gov; "Starting in October 2012, Medicare
will reward hospitals that provide high quality care for their patients through
the new Hospital Value-Based Purchasing
Program.
This program marks the beginning of an
historic change in how Medicare pays healthcare
providers and facilities-for the first
time, hospitals across the country will be paid for inpatient acute care
services based on care quality, not just the quantity of the services they
provide." Click here for
full article. This moves clinical care straight to the center of the
bull's-eye and maintains a focus on the healthcare outcomes. This is great;
however a serious point of discussion must be the impact of supporting processes
on such outcomes.
