Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services instituted a sweeping change to its reimbursement policies in 2008. It was the addition of “Never Events;” reasonably preventable medical errors for which they will never reimburse for readmission within 30 days of discharge. This change is significant not only in its immediate direct impact on health care providers’ revenue but also as a symbolic move towards linking pay to performance. While “Never Events” comprise a wide range of payment catagories, this paper will focus on those related to anticoagulation management.

CoagClinic is the most widely used anticoagulation tool in the United States, and provides the largest database (400,000 patients and 11 million encounters) addressing patients on anticoagulation therapy.   This report summarizes the PST results obtained with the application and compares the results with patients treated via traditional office visits, in an ongoing role to facilitate quality improvement in participating anticoagulation providers.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services instituted a sweeping change to its reimbursement policies in 2008. It was the addition of “Never Events;” reasonably preventable medical errors for which they will never reimburse for readmission within 30 days of discharge. This change is significant not only in its immediate direct impact on health care providers’ revenue but also as a symbolic move towards linking pay to performance. While “Never Events” comprise a wide range of payment catagories, this paper will focus on those related to anticoagulation management.

The fiscal and quality impact of computerized decision support and point-of-care testing.

Kettelkamp, Bahl and  Wurster present findings of how a point-of-service approach to diabetic patient management can improve patient care and clinical financial performance.Improving patient care and clinical performance.