Quality Care Reporting

Value-based purchasing is a concept that might be seen more and more in the near future from health care providers. P.Q.R.I., or Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, is a program established by Medicare. During the summer, a federal law was established which provides a 1.5 percent pay incentive for physicians to report quality measures through this program.

As more physicians begin to utilize quality care reporting, it is estimated by researchers that an increased number of less-ill patients will be treated. This, in turn, could possibly be the next big breakthrough in health care as more serious illnesses are caught and prevented in the earlier stages. This turn of events might eventually bring about lower health care costs as patients are being treated before more costly treatments are needed to reestablish good health.

I hope everyone had a safe summer and a happy Labor Day! I am looking forward to resuming my medical transcription blog! I am going to be changing the format to a weekly review of events rather than daily postings.

May is National Stroke Awareness Month

Stroke, also known more recently as "brain attack," is a very serious issue in America. A stroke is caused by a blood clot that clogs an artery or blood vessel and disrupts the blood flow to part or parts of the brain. It is the third leading cause of death and the No. 1 cause of adult disability, according to the National Stroke Association.

http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=HOME

It is important to become educated about strokes because up to 80% of them are preventable, and if hospital treatment is received within 3 hours of having a stroke, some symptoms may be reversable.
I read a poster in a local hospital recently that coincides with information at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroke. The poster was designed to give non-medically trained individuals some basic information that might help to recognize a stroke. Instructions were given in the information to have a suspected stroke victim follow a simple set of tasks that would be difficult for someone having a stroke to follow. Those instructions are:

• Ask the individual to smile.
• Ask the individual to raise both arms and keep them raised.
• Ask the individual to speak a simple sentence (coherently). For example, "It is sunny out today."

There is a great deal of information about strokes on both of these sites, as well as across the internet. Please take the time to read more about this topic. When it comes to strokes, time matters. The more time it takes a person to receive medical care, the less chance of brain restoration or survival there is for that individual.

National Hospital Week

May 7-13 is National Hospital Week. This week is set aside to recognize hospital employees everywhere for their dedication to health care and their compassion for the patients they treat.

Working in a hospital environment can be very challenging, but it is also very rewarding. There are many different aspects to patient care that must be upheld with the patient's satisfaction in mind. Every employee who comes in contact with a patient has a vital role in maintaining the high quality standards of health care that every person deserves and expects. Be it the switchboard operator who answers the patient's phone calls, the employee who registers the patient, the nurse giving direct care, the doctor examining the patient, the medical transcriptionist transcribing the reports, the billing clerk filing the patient's health insurance claims or collecting payment for the hospital bills, or any other employee in between; every employee is a part of the team that ensures patient satisfaction.

There is nothing that compares to the feeling of satisfaction you get in return as a hospital employee when you really go that extra mile to ensure that a patient feels like he/she is truly receiving the best medical care possible. There are occasions when patients will come back to the hospital just to say, "Thank you". Other times, patients call or send a card expressing their gratitude and satisfaction with these things. Those, to me, are the best parts about working in the health care field. I love knowing that the patients are truly receiving health care that they can rely on.

So, I hope each of you has a wonderful National Hospital Week! Thank you for helping to make the difference in health care!