Researchers from University of Central Florida Report Details of New Studies and Findings in the Area of Medicare and Medicaid (Predictors of Gaps in…

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Researchers from University of Central Florida Report Details of New Studies and Findings in the Area of Medicare and Medicaid (Predictors of Gaps in Patient Safety and Quality in US Hospitals)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- New research on Medicare and Medicaid is the subject of a report. According to news originating from Orlando, Florida, by VerticalNews correspondents, research stated, "To explore predictors of gaps between observed and best possible Hospital Compare scores in U.S. hospitals. American Hospital Association Annual Survey; Area Resource Files; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicare Provider and Analysis Review; and Hospital Compare data."

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Central Florida, "Using Stochastic Frontier Analysis and secondary cross-sectional data, gaps between the best possible and actual scores of Hospital Compare quality measures were estimated. Poisson regressions were used to ascertain financial, organizational, and market predictors of those gaps. Data were cleaned and matched based on hospital Medicare IDs. All U.S. hospitals that matched on analysis variables in 2007 were in the study (1,823-2,747, depending upon gap variable). Most hospitals have a greater than 10 percent gap in quality indicators. Payer mix, registered nurse staffing, size, case mix index, accreditation, being a teaching hospital, market competition, urban location, and region were strong predictors of gaps, although the direction of the association with gaps was not uniform across outcomes. A significant percentage of hospitals have gaps between their best possible and observed quality scores. It may be better to use gap scores than observed scores in payments systems."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "More SFA research is needed to know how to lower gaps through changes in hospital and market characteristics."

For more information on this research see: Predictors of Gaps in Patient Safety and Quality in US Hospitals. Health Services Research, 2016;51(6):2258-2281. Health Services Research can be contacted at: Wiley-Blackwell, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA. (Wiley-Blackwell - www.wiley.com/; Health Services Research - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1475-6773)

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from L. Unruh, University of Central Florida, Hlth Serv Adm Program, Dept. of Hlth Management & Informat, Coll Hlth & Public Affairs, Orlando, FL 32816, United States.

Keywords for this news article include: Orlando, Florida, United States, North and Central America, Medicare and Medicaid, Health Policy, Medicare, Hospital, University of Central Florida.