ABSTRACT
Many hospitals wanting to fine-tune the patient management process have focused almost exclusively on the inpatient care and hotel services offered on an institutional basis. Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems is yet another report used by purchasers to determine patient satisfaction with services. The government’s recent health reform legislation has budgeted millions to research comparative effectiveness and reduction in error rate for such things as unnecessary readmissions and the development of many of these episodes’ guidelines. Control is vested with the practitioner’s ability to be consistent in the process and outcomes, which requires documentation and a sensitivity to the health status and preexisting situation of the patient’s health. Outcomes data is slowly being collected by health plans and insurance companies. Many times doctors are told by pharmaceutical companies and managed care that a certain procedure or benchmark has proved to be positive for patients.
