A video of a patient discharged from the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) in Baltimore and left at a bus stop wearing only a thin hospital gown has prompted criticism of the hospital, an apology and the promise of a state investigation.

Hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission which offer services for labor and delivery will have three new documentation elements of performance (EPs) beginning on July 1.

Some physicians working in hospitals now openly admit they went too far in prescribing opioids as they tried to make a patient’s stay as pain-free as possible. With creating an addiction now a major concern, physician habits have changed, which means preparing patients for more pain.

Clinicians who participated in the Quality Payment Program (QPP) established by Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) can now submit their 2017 performance data through an online system—and not to multiple websites as with past CMS programs.

The Joint Commission has adopted a stricter standard on hand hygiene for all its accreditation programs as of Jan. 1, warning healthcare organizations if surveyors observe one worker failing to wash their hands in the process of direct patient care, it will be cited as a deficiency.

An extra year of experience for a physician can make an impact on patient mortality in a hospital, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine that found 30-day and hospital mortality rates were higher for hospitalists in the first year of practice than their second.

New data has been added to the CMS Physician Compare website, allowing the public to see star ratings based on Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) scores and practice information for patient satisfaction scores.

Reporting for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) is particularly vulnerable to fraud, OIG said, because it relies on clinicians on submitting their own data—and allows them to resubmit data to change their score.