Cath Lab Digest

Nearly 300,000 hip fractures occur in the United States each year, causing substantial short- and long-term disability and increased mortality. According to a recent meta-analysis, women had nearly 3-fold increased mortality risk in the year following hip fracture. In that analysis, increased risk of mortality from hip fracture decreased during the first 2 years following the fracture but it did not return to the rate of age-matched control participants during a 10-year follow-up.

Results of a cost-effectiveness analysis of evidence-based strategies to prevent pressure ulcers in long-term care [Arch Intern Med. 2011;171(20):1839-1847] show a clinical and economic benefit of using pressure redistribution foam mattresses for all long-term care residents, with some evidence also suggesting the cost-effectiveness of improving prevention with perineal foam cleansers and dry skin emollients.

Therapy involving cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) has been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality, but the benefits can be offset by complications including infection. Researchers have published data showing that the rate of CIED infection is increasing faster than the rate of CIED implantation, but to date there have been only limited data on the risk-adjusted mortality and cost associated with CIED infections or a possible association of those outcomes to different types of CIEDs.

Providing templates for documenting patient care and instructing advanced practitioners (APs), such as advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants, on proper use of the forms can help hospitals capture more revenue for services delivered in surgical intensive care units (ICUs). One year after Hartford Hospital in Connecticut introduced a program to optimize billing and documentation in its cardiothoracic (CTICU), neurosurgical (NICU), and general surgical (GSICU) ICUs, charge capture for the 3 units combined rose 48%.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has developed a set of 20 patient safety indicators to use as measures to screen for potential adverse events that may occur during hospitalization. The measures utilize administrative data to screen for specific International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes that might indicate a medical injury. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as well as private organizations use the AHRQ method to create ratings on individual healthcare institutions.