Medicare Payment for Calcium Modification Technologies Among Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, 2021-2022.

Background: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) New Technology Add-on Payment (NTAP) program supports adoption of new, costly medical technologies demonstrating substantial clinical improvement. In 2021, CMS waived the "substantial clinical improvement" criterion for devices designated under the FDA Breakthrough Devices Program (BDP). This study characterized risk-standardized payments associated with hospitalizations in which Medicare beneficiaries received calcium modification during PCI for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) following the adoption of the Shockwave C Coronary Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL) Catheter (Shockwave Medical) with BDP designation.

Efficacy of a Clinical Decision Support Tool to Promote Guideline-Concordant Evaluations in Patients With High-Risk Microscopic Hematuria: A Cluster Randomized Quality Improvement Project.

Purpose: We aimed to determine whether implementation of a clinical decision support (CDS) tool integrated into the electronic health record of a multisite academic medical center increased the proportion of patients with AUA "high-risk" microscopic hematuria (MH) who receive guideline-concordant evaluations.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a 2-arm cluster randomized quality improvement project in which 202 ambulatory sites from a large health system were randomized to either have their physicians receive at time of test results an automated CDS alert for patients with high-risk MH with associated recommendations for imaging and cystoscopy (intervention) or usual care (control). Primary outcome was met if a patient underwent both imaging and cystoscopy within 180 days from MH result.

Services and payments associated with the medicare new technology add-on payment program.

In 2001, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services established the New Technology Add-On Payment (NTAP) program to incentivize access to costly new technologies for Medicare beneficiaries. These technologies, authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), must demonstrate "substantial clinical improvement" when compared to existing technologies. However, in FY2021, the FDA introduced two expedited authorization pathways, allowing technologies with either designation to bypass the "substantial clinical improvement" criterion.

Effect of text message reminders to improve paediatric immunisation rates: a randomised controlled quality improvement project.

Previous studies have demonstrated that text message reminders can improve pediatric vaccination rates, including low income & diverse settings such as those served by federally qualified health centers. In this study, we aimed to improve compliance with routine childhood immunizations via a text message intervention in a network of urban, federally qualified health centers at a large academic medical center. We targeted parents or guardians of children aged 0-2 years who were overdue or due within 14 days for at least one routine childhood immunization without a scheduled appointment.