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Zynx Health Helps Hospitals Respond to New Medicare Reimbursement Policies

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 August 2007, 09:23 CDT

Zynx Health, the leader in evidence-based healthcare, today announced that the use of its products can help hospitals reduce financial risk in the wake of recent policy changes enacted by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Beginning in October 2008, Medicare will no longer reimburse hospitals for the treatment of eight conditions, including falls, mediastinitis (an infection that can develop after heart surgery), pressure ulcers, and vascular and urinary tract infections that result from the improper use of catheters. The list of conditions also includes three preventable accidents referred to as "never events": objects left in the body during surgery, air embolisms, and blood incompatibility.

These Medicare policy changes "will have a material impact on hospitals' clinical and financial operations," said Scott Weingarten, MD, MPH, Zynx Health's president and CEO. "The magnitude will only become greater if private payers implement the new Medicare reimbursement policies."

In order to mitigate reimbursement risks arising from these policy changes, providers may increase their adherence to evidence-based guidelines and their use of clinical decision support. Use of decision support tools like order sets and interdisciplinary plans of care--which Zynx provides through its flagship products, ZynxOrder™ and ZynxCare™--prompts clinicians to adhere to guidelines and proven best practices shown to improve patient outcomes and reduce the incidence of preventable conditions.

As hospitals prepare for the onset of new CMS regulations, many of Zynx's 1,200 clients have already implemented evidence-based decision support to achieve measurable improvements in patient care. For example, PinnacleHealth, a four-hospital system in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has used Zynx's interdisciplinary plans of care to drive significant reductions in both vascular infections resulting from the improper use of catheters and patient falls with injury. Many more of Zynx's 1,200 hospital clients are using order sets and plans of care to reduce the incidence of these preventable events and measurably improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of patient care.

For more information on the 2008 Medicare payment reforms for inpatient hospital services, please visit www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press_releases.asp.

About Zynx Health

Zynx Health, a subsidiary of HEARST Corporation, is the leading provider of evidence-based clinical decision support. Its team of physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals rigorously reviews the latest peer-reviewed literature to develop clinical summaries and distill evidence-based best practices that help improve the quality of patient care. More than 1,200 hospitals nationwide trust evidence-based decision support from Zynx Health to address regulatory initiatives, optimize pay-for-performance reimbursement, and measurably improve the quality and safety of patient care. For more information about Zynx Health, visit www.zynx.com or call 888.333.ZYNX (9969).

Source: Business Wire

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