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The Leapfrog Group said hospitals improved their patient experience scores for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading some to earn higher safety grades in the nonprofit watchdog's latest report. The organization’s spring 2024 report found that hospitals’ average scores on measures related to staff responsiveness and doctor communication increased between October 2021 and March 2023. Around 70% of hospitals increased their score for at least one patient experience measure. (Devereaux, 4/30)

Memorial Hermann’s liver transplant program had been underperforming in some areas before a national scandal emerged at the Texas Medical Center hospital, according to publicly available data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. A Houston Chronicle analysis of registry data found that the hospital’s liver transplant volume had been declining since at least 2015 and, in recent years, dropped lower than would be expected of a program with a similar patient population. (Gill and Zdun, 4/30)

In what could be a harbinger of things to come for struggling rural hospitals, Mahnomen Health will transition its 10-bed hospital to a rural emergency center starting Wednesday. The money-saving move effectively eliminates overnight stays at the federally designated critical-access hospital located in northwest Minnesota. Outpatient and emergency services will continue. (Eagle III, 5/1)

Sparta (Ill.) Community Hospital cut its no-show rate by 6% by combining the electronic health record with the communications system to deliver medical reminders and information directly to patients, according to an article on the American Hospital Association website. Research published in the National Library of Medicine showed critical access hospitals lag behind other hospitals with regards to technology, especially in the use of patient engagement features. (Taylor, 4/30)

Physicians might be hesitant to write annual prescriptions, but Marie Brown, MD, director of practice redesign at the American Medical Association, says providers can save two hours a day with these scripts. Synchronized refills for chronic medications, not including controlled substances, are 90-day prescriptions written with four refills. They are renewed each year, and the ideal scenario aligns with a patient's annual wellness visit, Dr. Brown recently said in an AMA podcast. (Twenter, 4/30)

When Maureen Amirault purchased her first electric wheelchair in 2020, she had been living with muscular dystrophy for decades. Braces and a cane helped, but walking became too arduous, so she got a chair through a company called Numotion. (Broderick, 5/1)