In The Know: Stay Informed with Health Care News
Posted by Pauline Heidemann on Mon, Feb 13, 2012 @ 06:20 AM
This week, In The Know, looks at the following news stories: Central-Line Bloodstream Infection Data Available to the Public; Prepayment Audits Delayed Until June; Mandatory Flu Shots Recommended by NVAC; FDA Issues Warning on Acid Relfux Drugs; CDC Warns Gonorrhea Becoming Drug-Resistant; Health Care Spending Expected to Double Over the Next Decade.
Central-Line Bloodstream Infection Data Available to the Public
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has opened up blood infection data to the public via its website, Hospital Compare. This month, hospitals began reporting surgical-site infection rates to the CDC, which will be posted quarterly on the Hospital Compare website beginning in 2013. According to the CDC, central-line blood infections lead to 100,000 deaths each year, costing roughly $45 billion in hospital costs. Patient advocates applaud the new additions to Hospital Compare, highlighting that public disclosure will force hospitals to improve the quality of care they deliver and will help patients choose safer facilities. To read CMS’s statement, click on http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/press/release.asp?Counter=4260.
Prepayment Audits Delayed Until June
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has delayed anti-fraud programs scheduled to begin on January 1 to June 1 in response to provider concerns about administrative burdens. As part of a federal crackdown on fraud, prepayment reviews will allow recovery audit contractors (RAC) to review historically improper claims before payment to prevent the traditional pay-and-chase method in which Medicare pays out reimbursement and then looks for improper payments after they occur. CMS will also delay until June 1 a program to ensure power mobility devices are warranted. To read CMS’s announcement, click on http://https://www.cms.gov/CERT/02_Demonstrations.asp.
Mandatory Flu Shots Recommended by NVAC
The National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) voted 12-2 last week that hospitals and clinics should consider a mandate for employees to get an annual flu shot if other efforts fail to get 90% compliance. The vote came at a two-day meeting at the Department of Health and Human Services where nurses and union leaders protested mandatory flu shots, citing a relatively low efficacy rate (59%) of the most widely prescribed flu shot. However, a large number of professional medical and public health groups support mandatory flu shots as a way to prevent the spread of the disease to sick patients. Currently, only about 40% of health care workers receive a seasonal flu shot. To read more, click on http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/Vaccines/31091.
FDA Issues Warning on Acid Relfux Drugs
The FDA has warned that use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), including popular brands such as Nexium, Prilosec, and Prevacid, may increase the risk of associated diarrhea following a review of data from the agency’s Adverse Event Reporting System that yielded the same findings reported by the American College of Gastroenterology. Many of the adverse event reports involved patients who were elderly, had underlying medical conditions, or were taking broad spectrum antibiotics. The FDA advised that for patients taking PPIs who have diarrhea that is not improving, health care providers should prescribe the lowest does of PPI for the shortest time possible to improve the condition being treated. To read more, click on http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm290838.htm?source=govdelivery.
CDC Warns Gonorrhea Becoming Drug-Resistant
The CDC has warned that the rate of gonorrhea resistant to Suprax has jumped 17-fold from 0.1% in 2006 to 1.7% as of mid-2011. The CDC has typically changed gonorrhea treatment recommendations once the prevalence of resistance tops 5% in its surveillance of infections, but there presently aren’t any agents left to switch to. “It is time to sound the alarm,” wrote researchers in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Gail A. Bolan, MD, director of sexually transmitted disease prevention at the CDC and her colleagues are advocating the use of dual therapy. To read more, click on http://www.cdc.gov/std/Gonorrhea/arg/default.htm.
Health Care Spending Expected to Double Over the Next Decade
According to a report released on Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), health care spending is expected to more than double over the next decade, increasing by 8% each year from 2012 to 2022 to reach $1.8 trillion by 2022, which would be about 7.3% of the gross domestic product in that year. Currently, health care spending accounts for about 5% of the GDP. The rising cost of Medicare accounts for one-half of the projected health care spending growth. To read more, click on http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12699.