Quality and Safety

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued final guidance for mobile medical application developers, promising limited regulation for most health and wellness apps while applying risk-based standards to diagnostic and quasi-medical device apps.

The Food and Drug Administration today announced a long-awaited final rule for the unique device identification system intended to provide a consistent way to identify medical devices. But at least one healthcare organization says the government could have done better.

The Scorecard provides the first state-by-state comparison of the healthcare experiences of the 39 percent of Americans with incomes less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or $47,000 a year for a family of four and $23,000 for an individual.

With more than 2.3 million visits each year, Sharp HealthCare sees plenty of patients pass through its doors. That means ensuring patient information is easily accessible within its electronic health record system -- and patients are correctly identified -- is critically important.

Medical identity theft is on the rise and hasn't shown signs of slowing down any time soon, according to a new report released Thursday.

Ever since URAC developed its first healthcare case management accreditation 14 years ago, it has evolved to stay atop a fast-changing industry. Its latest program enables the application of case management standards across care settings, so providers can demonstrate efficient, outcomes-based care.

UnitedHealth Group has voluntarily recalled its OptumInsight emergency department electronic health record software after a glitch resulted in physician notes failing to appear in the records.

With profligate use of CT and MRI scans widely blamed for increased healthcare spending, a new report shows that pairing automated prior authorization with evidence-based guidelines can ensure such tests are only used when necessary, improving patient safety while reducing medical costs by perhaps 40 percent.

The 24-hospital Sutter Health system was the talk of the town late August after a software glitch rendered its $1 billion electronic health record system inaccessible to nurses and clinical staff. Reflecting back, a Sutter nurse talks about what the health system should have done differently.

The Southeast Michigan Beacon Community, one of 17 projects nationwide awarded federal money to spur health IT initiatives, has announced that although it didn't hit the bull's eye on every mark, the project has achieved six of seven target quality measures for type 2 diabetes patients.