MDNews - Cleveland-Akron-Canton

NCQA Rates Kaiser Permanente Best in State K AISER PERMANENTE OHIO was rated as both the Number One Private (Commercial) and Medicare health plans in the state and as one of the highest- rated health insurance plans in the nation (#38) Private (Commercial) and (#16) Medicare by the 2012-2013 Nat ional Commit tee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). NCQA is a national, private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality and a central figure in driving improvement throughout the health care system. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. Kaiser Permanente Ohio plans (Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Ohio) were rated among 465 Medicare and 538 Private health plans NCQA evaluated and rated based on clinical performance, member satisfaction, and NCQA Accreditation. Kaiser Permanente Ohio holds the NCQA 'Excellent' Accreditation rank- ings, the highest score available, for both its HMO and Medicare products, reportedly placing the organization among the best health plans in the nation in providing access and service, qualified providers, staying healthy, getting better, and living with illness. This is the f i rs t yea r Ka iser Permanente Ohio achieved a ranking of number one in Commercial and Medicare plans in the state. s Union Wins U NION HOSPITAL IN Dover has been ranked as one of the safest hospitals in the nation by HealthGrades. The indepen- dent healthcare ratings organization has identified UH as a recipient of its 2012 Patient Safety Excellence award. Only 263 hospitals in the country to received this designation. Bruce James, president and CEO of Union Hospital, says keeping patients safe it a top priority for the hospital's physi- cians and employees. "The physicians and hospital staff are very focused on reducing preventable patient safety events," James said. "Complications following surgery, bed sores, blood clots, and post-surgical infections are a few examples of patient safety events that Union Hospital strives to reduce and eliminate. We're pleased that our performance results in a top safety ranking from HealthGrades." In announcing the names of the 2012 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients, Kristin Reed, vice presi- dent of hospital quality programs at HealthGrades said, "Patients of hospitals performing in the top 5 percent of the nation's hospitals were almost 48 percent less likely to experience a patient safety event compared to hospitals ranked in the bottom 5 percent." To identify the 2012 award recipients, HealthGrades analyzed approximately 40 million hospital records from 5,000 hospitals nationwide from 2008 to 2010. The analysis was conducted using 46 | Cleveland/Akron/Canton MD NEWS s MDNEWS.COM s NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2012 HealthGrades Safety Award a method developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to calculate event rates for 13 indicators of patient safety. Participation in the HealthGrades study is not volun- tary and hospitals cannot choose to opt out of the analysis. "Just a few weeks ago we announced 2012 HealthGrades Excellence Awards for Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, and Pulmonary Medicine," James says. "This Patient Safety Excellence Award is a credit to the hard work and commitment to patient safety that's been made by everybody at Union Hospital who cares for patients or supports those caregivers." s ADVERTISERS' INDEX Akron Children's Hospital ..................... Inside Back Cover Brookshire Wealth Management ............7 Brouse McDowell ....................................... 41 Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLP .....................................43 CBIZ ...............................................................45 Cleveland Clinic ................................... 13, 39 Cleveland Foot & Ankle Clinic ............... 29 Crossroads Hospice .................................... 11 Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty, Co. .................................. 35 Northeast Ohio Medical University ...........................5, 36 Summa Health System ...........Back Cover Summa Western Reserve Hospital .....................................3 Southwest General ..................... Inside Front Cover Weidrick, Livesay, Mitchell & Burge, LLC ...........................................37

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