Jacksonville Hospital Penalized for Patient Safety
Posted/updated on: January 21, 2015 at 5:27 am
JACKSONVILLE — An East Texas hospital will face a Medicare penalty for a high rate of potentially avoidable mistakes that can harm patients, according to Kaiser Health News. Penalized hospitals will have their Medicare payments reduced by one percent over the fiscal year that runs through September 2015. According to KETK, East Texas Medical Jacksonville is on the list of hospitals to receive cuts.
To determine penalties, Medicare scored hospitals on a 1 to 10 skill with 10 being the worst in three different Hospital-Acquired Conditions (HACs). One is central-line associated bloodstream infections, or CLABSIs. The second is catheterassociated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). The last one, Serious Complications, is based on eight types of injuries, including blood clots, bed sores and falls. Any hospital with a score above seven is penalized. A total of 721 hospitals nationwide were penalized, 43 in Texas. The Kaiser Health report was originally released in mid-December.
