Medicare: Inpatient Prospective Payment System

I n October 2012, Medicare began rewarding hospitals that provide high-quality care for their patients through the new Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program. Hospitals paid under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) are paid for inpatient acute care services based on quality of care not for the volume of services they provide.

In Fiscal Year 2016 (from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016) the VBP program includes a total of 24 measures. The measures are represented in four different Domains; HCAHPS Composites (Patient Experience of Care), Outcome, Process of Care and Efficiency. The diagnosis-related groups (DRG) base operating payments will increase from 1.50% in FY 2015 to 1.75% in FY 2016. Based on performance, hospitals

In our facility administration provide continuous training to leadership and staff in order to increase patient satisfaction, our motto is ”Communicate clearly and often", every interaction with patients is an opportunity to educate them. We start teaching and educating people from the day they come in, making sure they are prepared to take care of themselves at home. Another tool that we use to ensure effective communication is providing interpreters for patients who do not speak or understand English, this is crucial for information about medication and discharge instructions.

Patient whiteboards were upgraded and are use to the fullest, they serve as a communication tool between hospital providers and as a mechanism to engage patients in their care, whiteboard use could improve teamwork communication as well as patient care and awareness of their care team, admission plans and duration of admission, and significantly improve patient overall satisfaction. The bedside nurse manages writing and updating the whiteboard each day using a templated board, the displayed information includes day and date, the names of the patient, bedside nurse, and primary and attending physician, family member 's phone number, diet, pain management and mobile numbers for Nurse, Charge Nurse and Nurse Assistant. This simple strategies is driving our thresholds to our benchmarks at an accelerated