Ensure Close Follow-up to Help Reduce Readmissions and Improve Star Ratings

September 2016

Medicare's new Star Rating for hospitals will bring more attention to pharmacy's role in improving patient outcomes.

The rating will combine over 60 quality measures into one OVERALL score...to make it easier for patients to compare hospitals.

The score itself won't affect reimbursement. But it'll be the first thing patients see when they visit CMS's Hospital Compare website.

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Table of Contents

Quality Measures Ensure Close Follow-up to Help Reduce Readmissions and Improve Star Ratings
Pneumonia Treat Most HAP or VAP Patients With 7 Days of Antibiotics
Hematology & Oncology Don't Automatically Start Empiric Vancomycin for Febrile Neutropenia
Heart Failure Avoid Restarting Risky Meds at Discharge in Heart Failure Patients
Constipation Remove Docusate From Hospital Order Sets Due to Minimal Benefit
HIV & AIDS Check Creatinine Clearance When Using Tenofovir
Epinephrine Make Epinephrine Kits to Treat Anaphylaxis Patients In House
Angina Save Ranolazine (Ranexa) for Patients Who Can't Tolerate Other Angina Meds
Ophthalmology Switch to Preservative-Free Artificial Tears When Using Over Four Times Daily
Opioids Use Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs to Help Prevent Opioid Misuse
Hepatitis C Discourage Using PPIs With New Hep C Med Epclusa