Grading the Graders of Medical Facilities
A New York hospital group has issued a "report card" evaluating the groups that traditionally measure quality in medical facilities.
The Healthcare Association of New York State's report card scores eight quality reports by governmental and other groups. Using measures such as data consistency, transparency, and use of the most current data, HANYS awarded the highest grade, A, to the state's Department of Health and to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. HANYS gave the lowest score, D, to two for-profit companies, HealthGrades and Solucient, as well as to a magazine, U.S. News and World Report.
"More and more entities are entering the quality measurement field, generating an avalanche of varied scoring that, instead of assisting patients and providers, serves more to bewilder them," the president of HANYS, Daniel Sisto, said in a statement in which he called for standardized, clinically based measures to evaluate hospitals.
***City's Measles Cases Climb to 22
The number of measles cases in New York City this year has climbed to 22, more than four times as many cases as last year, according to health officials.
There were five confirmed measles cases in all of 2007, according to the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. So far this year, all of the cases have been confined to Brooklyn, and most cases were linked to travelers from countries that are experiencing measles epidemics, the department's assistant commissioner of immunization, Dr. Jane Zucker, said. "This is clearly more cases than we usually see, and for us that means we will act to prevent any additional cases," she said.
City health officials said last week that the vaccination rate for young children in New York City reached a record high of 80%, up from about 69% in 2006. The national vaccination rate is 77.5%.
In light of the increased measles cases this year, Dr. Zucker urged parents to vaccinate their children.
***Foundation To Develop Diagnostic Tool For Brain Trauma
A New York-based foundation has received $4.6 million from the Department of Defense to develop a device to diagnose brain trauma among combat soldiers.
The Brain Trauma Foundation is to develop a handheld device that would track eye movements and be capable of diagnosing brain trauma within seconds. Brain trauma has been a signature injury among combat soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, who have been exposed to explosives and roadside bombs.
Traumatic brain injury "can be easily confused with fatigue of psychological problems," the foundation's president and a clinical professor of neurological surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College, Dr. Jamshid Ghajar, said in a statement announcing the grant. The device would enable the military to "immediately triage servicemen," he said.
***Paterson Seeks Boost in Primary, Preventive Care
In remarks to representatives of the state's hospital industry, Governor Paterson stressed the need for better primary and preventive care.
At the annual meeting of the Greater New York Hospital Association last week, Mr. Paterson called on hospitals to partner with lawmakers to reform the state's health care system and increase access to care.
"We need more primary and preventive care," Mr. Paterson said. "We need greater access to affordable health insurance. We need to fix our medical malpractice system. We need more effective public health programs."
GNYHA's president, Kenneth Raske, said the hospital industry would work with Mr. Paterson to enact "genuine health care reforms that will benefit all New Yorkers."
***Physician Group Elects New President
The state's main physician advocacy group has elected a plastic surgeon who is a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps, Dr. Michael Rosenberg, as its new president.
The Medical Society of the State of New York announced the appointment earlier this month at its annual meeting. Dr. Rosenberg succeeds a doctor of osteopathic medicine, Robert Goldberg.
At the meeting, members also considered more than 80 policy resolutions. They approved several measures, including a resolution calling for better access to health care and a resolution opposing the sale of tobacco in health care facilities.
Dr. Rosenberg, who will oversee the group's legislative agenda, is an attending plastic surgeon at Northern Westchester Hospital, where he is a trustee. A graduate of Columbia University, he was last called to active duty in 2003.
esolomont@nysun.com
