Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on Intuitive’s website.
A high rate of colon surgical site infections (SSI) triggered financial penalties for Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center, a community hospital, in 2015. Based on a standard 1% annual penalty, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ultimately reduced the medical center’s reimbursements by an estimated total of $585,000.
Each year, 160,000 to 300,000 U.S. patients develop a surgical site infection in the days or weeks following their operations. These complications:1
- Represent 20% of all hospital-acquired infections
- Increase hospital length of stay (LOS) by 9.7 days, on average
- Drive the most readmissions
- Place a significant burden on healthcare consumers, providers, and payers, costing the system $3.5 – $10 billion annually
The challenges
Legacy Mount Hood’s SSI challenges largely arose from the medical center’s inability to consistently provide minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for general surgery and colon cases. That shortcoming caused the medical center to send many colon cases to hospitals farther away. Not only did the referrals represent a revenue loss, but they also placed a travel burden on the hospital’s lower income and rural patient populations. Click here to continue>>
News From Our Partners
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.