Quality of care is the number-one priority for health care organizations today. The federal reimbursement system is undergoing profound change and is focused now on driving quality of care through payment policy changes, public reporting, and enforcement. In addition, the Office of the Inspector General and the American Health Lawyers Association recently issued guidance for boards of health care organizations regarding their fiduciary responsibilities for quality of care and patient safety. Foley recently hosted the first session of a two-part breakfast briefing on the quality revolution confronting health care organizations today.
On Tuesday, October 16, 2007, Douglas O’Brien, the former regional director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Region V and current vice president of Res Publica Group, Susan M. Nedza, M.D., M.B.A., chief medical officer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and Janice A. Anderson, Foley Health Care partner, discussed:
- The origins of the current quality movement
- How quality metrics are developed and used to gauge quality of care
- Current efforts by the government to drive quality through reimbursement policy, public reporting, and enforcement
The second session titled “How to Engage the Medical Staff to Achieve Quality Objectives” took place on November 15, 2007.