New unit focuses on patient wellness

By Kim Hilsenbeck

 Hospitals are changing the way they deliver patient care, spurred in part by the Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA). With a focus on quality, not quantity of care, decision makers in hospitals nationwide are implementing a variety of measures to provide more effective care.

Government sponsored health insurance plans, such as Medicare and Medicaid, are moving toward paying for keeping patients healthy. For example, once discharged, is a patient coming back to the hospital for the same complaint? That could affect how a hospital gets reimbursed.