Health News
"Federal regulators say they are moving to make once-confidential data about the performance of kidney dialysis clinics more readily available to the public," reports Robin Fields of ProPublica, the nonprofit, investigative news group that posted the data online in December. (ProPublica map locates Kentucky dialysis facilities with dark blue dots; gray areas are lakes and national forests)
ProPublica's investigation reviewed eight years of inspection records for more than 1,500 clinics and "turned up hundreds of lapses in care, some of which led to patient injuries and death," Fields reports. It also found hundreds of clinics had not been inspected for five years or more, though they are supposed to be checked every three years. Upon learning of the investigation, Grassley asked CMS about what it was doing to improve things.
CMS officials conceded that inspections were inadequate in more than a third of the states. Tougher standards had reportedly been implemented to make the inspections more comprehensive; they are apparently needed. In the past two fiscal years, 15 percent of facilities inspected had "deficiencies serious enough to warrant termination from the Medicare program if left uncorrected," Fields said. (Read more)
- Online Database Lets You Check On Your Surgeon; Some Surgeons Say Methodology Used In Analysis Of Data Isn't Adequate
A new online database is available to help consumers choose a surgeon, but surgeons are pushing back and asking for a peer-reviewed study of the data. The searchable database, "Surgeon Scorecard," was created by ProPublica, a nonprofit journalism organization,...
- Seniors Get A Lot Of Anti-anxiety Drugs, Sometimes In Dangerous Combination With Narcotics; Ky. Ranks Third In The Nation In That
When Medicare's drug program, called Part D, was put into place more than a decade ago, Congress decided to not pay for anti-anxiety medications. In 2013, when Medicare started paying for them, the program went from spending nothing for these medications...
- Ky. Ranks 8th In The Number Of High-prescribing Medicare Physicians For Powerful Narcotic Painkillers And Stimulants
Kentucky ranks eighth in Medicare physicians who are considered "high prescribers" of Schedule 2 medications, drugs that have the highest potential for abuse like oxycodone, fentanyl, morphine and Ritalin, according to an analysis of Medicare data...
- Medicare Ratings For Nursing Homes Rely Heavily On Self-reported Data; Recent Inspection Data Are Available Elsewhere
Next time you look at Medicare's ratings for nursing homes, be aware that most of the information used to make the ranking is based on self-reported data and is not verified by the government. Consumers and investors make critical decisions based...
- 531 Deficiencies Found In 80 Kentucky Nursing Homes In First Quarter Of 2012; Worst One Had 29; Five Had None
State inspectors found 531 deficiencies in 80 Kentucky nursing homes in the first quarter of this year, with one facility accounting for 29 of them alone: Life Care Center of Morehead. In five nursing homes, no deficiencies were found. The information...
Health News
Feds say they will post data on performance of dialysis centers
"Federal regulators say they are moving to make once-confidential data about the performance of kidney dialysis clinics more readily available to the public," reports Robin Fields of ProPublica, the nonprofit, investigative news group that posted the data online in December. (ProPublica map locates Kentucky dialysis facilities with dark blue dots; gray areas are lakes and national forests)Last year, a ProPublica investigation showed inferior care and little oversight in some facilities. Officials with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, they are now making public their statistical compilations on the country's 5,000 dialysis clinics. This has never been done before, though CMS "has used public money to collect and analyze the data in the reports for more than a decade," Fields reports. CMS is planning on posting the reports on Medicare's Dialysis Facility Compare website. ProPublica has already posted those reports, which can be viewed by clicking here.
ProPublica's investigation reviewed eight years of inspection records for more than 1,500 clinics and "turned up hundreds of lapses in care, some of which led to patient injuries and death," Fields reports. It also found hundreds of clinics had not been inspected for five years or more, though they are supposed to be checked every three years. Upon learning of the investigation, Grassley asked CMS about what it was doing to improve things.
CMS officials conceded that inspections were inadequate in more than a third of the states. Tougher standards had reportedly been implemented to make the inspections more comprehensive; they are apparently needed. In the past two fiscal years, 15 percent of facilities inspected had "deficiencies serious enough to warrant termination from the Medicare program if left uncorrected," Fields said. (Read more)
- Online Database Lets You Check On Your Surgeon; Some Surgeons Say Methodology Used In Analysis Of Data Isn't Adequate
A new online database is available to help consumers choose a surgeon, but surgeons are pushing back and asking for a peer-reviewed study of the data. The searchable database, "Surgeon Scorecard," was created by ProPublica, a nonprofit journalism organization,...
- Seniors Get A Lot Of Anti-anxiety Drugs, Sometimes In Dangerous Combination With Narcotics; Ky. Ranks Third In The Nation In That
When Medicare's drug program, called Part D, was put into place more than a decade ago, Congress decided to not pay for anti-anxiety medications. In 2013, when Medicare started paying for them, the program went from spending nothing for these medications...
- Ky. Ranks 8th In The Number Of High-prescribing Medicare Physicians For Powerful Narcotic Painkillers And Stimulants
Kentucky ranks eighth in Medicare physicians who are considered "high prescribers" of Schedule 2 medications, drugs that have the highest potential for abuse like oxycodone, fentanyl, morphine and Ritalin, according to an analysis of Medicare data...
- Medicare Ratings For Nursing Homes Rely Heavily On Self-reported Data; Recent Inspection Data Are Available Elsewhere
Next time you look at Medicare's ratings for nursing homes, be aware that most of the information used to make the ranking is based on self-reported data and is not verified by the government. Consumers and investors make critical decisions based...
- 531 Deficiencies Found In 80 Kentucky Nursing Homes In First Quarter Of 2012; Worst One Had 29; Five Had None
State inspectors found 531 deficiencies in 80 Kentucky nursing homes in the first quarter of this year, with one facility accounting for 29 of them alone: Life Care Center of Morehead. In five nursing homes, no deficiencies were found. The information...