Completing one of the four-hour in-person courses and a four-hour online follow-up course allows physicians to prescribe buprenorphine for office-based treatment of opioid use disorder.... Read More >>

In addition to offering peer review services to rural hospitals, Washington Hospital Services’ Health Care Quality Services (WHS-HQS) also provides peer review to rural health clinics, whether hospital-based or free standing.... Read More >>

A new article in British Medical Journal Quality & Safety reviews five areas of health care that are essential to improving patient safety, which the Institute For Healthcare Improvement/National Patient Safety Foundation (IHI/NPSF) and the Lucian Leape Institute (LLI) first identified in 2009.... Read More >>

Gov. Inslee has declared September 22 Falls Prevention Awareness Day, which is an opportunity to engage your organization in efforts to reduce falls that result in injuries. This is a relevant issue for Washington State, as 13 percent of residents are older than 65, falls are the leading cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions among older adults, and the rate of death from falls among older adults has increased 25 percent in the last 18 years.... Read More >>

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has notified hospitals that it will provide confidential hospital-specific reports to review two disparity methods that assess hospital performance for patients with social risk factors in Hospital 30-day, All-Cause, Risk-Standardized Readmission Rate Following Pneumonia Hospitalization.... Read More >>

The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) has selected the Arcora Foundation — the foundation of Delta Dental of Washington — as an “Apparently Successful Bidder” for the Medicaid Dental Managed Care Request for Proposal. Per the selection, the Arcora Foundation, in partnership with Delta Dental of California and Delta Dental of Washington, will work with HCA and providers across the state to improve oral health care for Medicaid recipients in Washington.... Read More >>

Membership updates from the August 8, 2018 Weekly Report.... Read More >>

Recent member news from the August 9, 2018 Weekly Report.... Read More >>

Purpose  The purpose of this bulletin is to share WSHA and the Washington State Medical Association’s (WSMA) official comments and concerns on the Washington State Medical Commission (MQAC) proposed rule... Read More >>

To ensure data integrity and help WSHA better support hospitals in their quality improvement efforts, WSHA is in the process of developing a robust data submission follow-up process. WSHA staff... Read More >>