Adding BSNs leads to better quality, lower costs
Patients who received more than 80 percent of their care from nurses with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing had 18.7 percent lower odds of being readmitted and 1.9 percent shorter lengths of stay, found a study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The study, published in the October issue of Medical Care, also found that a 10 percent increase in the percentage of nurses with a BSN who care for a patient reduced the odds of mortality by the same 10 percent. The savings from reduced readmissions for the patients studied totaled $5.7 million per year, while the extra cost of increasing the proportion of nurses with a BSN degree was $1.8 million, according to a news release from RWJF.
Cost of operating a physician practice rises 4.6%
Spending on business operations staff per full-time-equivalent physician climbed 4.6 percent in 2013 among medical practices surveyed by the Medical Group Management Association. MGMA officials attributed the increase to the greater value being placed on the role of medical practice executives and on what it said is an increasingly complex regulatory environment, according to a news release. “The complex and overlapping requirements of current Medicare [physician quality reporting], meaningful use, and value-based payment modifier programs are cases in point, ironically increasing administrative reporting costs for practices instead of supporting their efforts to improve patient care,” said Anders Gilberg, senior vice president of government affairs, in the release.
Leadership academy launches
Rush University and the Illinois Hospital Association unveiled the Leadership Academy for Healthcare Transformation, a three-month program using classroom and Web-based learning aimed at educating Illinois hospital executives on transformation and change as they relate to leadership skills development. The academy, which includes a couple two and half day sessions at Rush in Chicago, is set to launch March 19–21.
