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| Exercise: Never to late to start Jill Miyamura, Ph.D. Exercise is important at all ages. Hawai'i's rates have been consistently better than the U.S. average and have improved from 1990 when one in three residents reported they had no leisure time physical activity. Click Here for the full story |
| Hawaii's increase in the number of Emergency Department visits: A growing concern? Jill Miyamura, PhD Emergency medical care is a legal right for all Americans, regardless of insurance status. Under a law enacted in 1986, emergency departments (EDs) must evaluate and stabilize anyone who shows up. That requirement -- bolstered by physicians' ethical duty to treat the ill -- has made hospital emergency departments subject to unique pressures. Click Here for the full story |
| Potentially Preventable Hospitlizations Cost Hawaii Hospitals Jill Miyamura, PhD Hawaiis hospitals spent nearly $112 million in 2008 on 10,856 patient stays that could possibly have been prevented with timely and effective ambulatory care. Hospital care represents the largest component of overall health care expenditures. Reducing preventable hospitalizations is one way to lower America's $ 2.2 trillion medical bill. Click Here for the full story |
| Hawai'i Rated "Average" in Providing Quality Healthcare Jill Miyamura, Ph.D. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's annual release of state-by-state quality data continues to give states mixed reviews for the quality of care they provide. Hawaii was rated Average in providing quality health care. Click Here for the full story |
| ICD-10 is Finally Final Jean Kailiawa, RHIA HHS has released the final rule for implementing the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, or ICD-10, code sets, which pushes back the compliance deadline from October 1, 2011, in the proposed rule to October 1, 2013, in the final rule. Click Here for the full story |
| Focus on Inpatient Quality Jill Miyamura, Ph.D. This section describes quality of care for hospitals compared to the U.S. The Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQIs) are a set of measures that provide a perspective on hospital quality of care using hospital administrative data. These indicators reflect quality of care inside hospitals and include inpatient mortality for certain procedures and medical conditions, and utilization of procedures for which there are questions of overuse, underuse, and misuse. The indicators were developed by investigators at Stanford University and the University of California, under a contract with the Agency of Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ). Click Here for the full story |
| The Uninsured in Hawaii Jill Miyamura, Ph.D. Health Care: A right? A privilege? Certainly a monetary burden. The focus of this article is the uninsured and their impact on Hawaii's hospitals. Click Here for the full story |
| Focus on Patient Safety Jill Miyamura, Ph.D. The patient safety indicators (PSIs) are a set of indicators providing information on potential in hospital complications and adverse events following surgeries, procedures, and childbirth. The PSIs were developed after a comprehensive literature review, analysis of ICD-9-CM codes, review by a clinician panel, implementation of risk adjustment, and empirical analyses. The indicators were developed by investigators at Stanford University and the University of California, under a contract with the Agency of Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ). The PSIs measure health care quality by using readily available hospital inpatient administrative data. Click Here for the full story |
| It's Flu Season Again...Got Your Shot Yet? Jill Miyamura, Ph.D. Influenza (flu) is mainly spread from person to person through coughing or sneezing. In Hawaii, hospitalizations for flu peak in the winter months. Each year between 5 to 20 percent of the population are afflicted with this respiratory disease. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccination each year. Click Here for the full story |
| Obesity Heavy Burden on Hospitals Jill Miyamura, Ph.D. During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. This trend is also reflected in the increase in the number of hospitalizations where obesity is a co-existing condition. The following series of maps illustrates this trend and the increasing rate across each island of Hawaii. Click Here for the full story |
| Heart Health and Men Jill Miyamura, Ph.D. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, American men are 25 percent less likely than women to visit a doctor. Why? A lot of times its very difficult for men to be convinced they need to see a physician for a problemthere is a lot of denial going on, unfortunately, that denial can be deadly, said Dr. Todd Seto, Medical Director, Non-invasive Cardiology at Queens Medical Center. Click Here for the full story |
| Babies: NOT Cheaper by the Dozen! Jill Miyamura, Ph.D. Multiple birth deliveries are associated with higher average hospital charges. Why? A key reason is multiple gestations (twins, triplets, etc.) are associated with an increasing risk of preterm birth. In Hawaii, the rate of preterm birth in women carrying a single baby was about 6% during 2007. Click Here for the full story |
| Hospitalizations among tourists . . . why care? Susan Forbes, DrPH According to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, Tourism is the activity most responsible for Hawaiis current economic growth and standard of living 1. Periodically, politicians talk about Hawaii as a potential health tourism destination. For the most part, though, healthcare and tourism merge when visitors get sick and require treatment in Hawaiis hospitals and emergency departments. Click Here for the full story |
| Meth Admissions Rising in Hawaii Jill Miyamura, Ph.D. Methamphetamine or meth is also known as speed, ice, and crystal. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, methamphetamine is the drug of choice in Hawaii.1 Its effects include cardiovascular and psychiatric disturbances. Meth accounts for more emergency room visits that any other drug, based on a survey by the National Association of Counties. Click Here for the full story |
| How's Your Mental Health? Jill Miyamura, Ph.D. Almost one-third of all stays in Hawaiis community hospitals for patients age 18 and older---33,407 of nearly 108,000 stays---involved depressive, bipolar, schizophrenia and other mental health disorders or substance use related disorders in 2007. Click Here for the full story |
| Looking for statistics? Jill Miyamura, Ph.D. Have you ever wanted to know answers to simple healthcare questions but just dont know where to look? See our General Health Data and search by topic! Click Here for the full story |