National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale Reporting in Medicare Claims Data: Reporting in the First 3 Years.

Background: Since 2016, hospitals have been able to document (ICD-10-CM) codes for the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). As of 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services uses NIHSS as a risk adjustment variable. We assessed associations between patient- and hospital-level variables and contemporary NIHSS reporting.

Palliative Care Specialist Access is Associated With Rankings of Hospital Quality.

Context: Increasing evidence has shown that access to specialty palliative care, particularly outpatient palliative care clinics, can yield improved health outcomes and be a marker of hospital quality.

Objective: To determine whether an association exists between access to specialty palliative care programs and hospital rankings found in the 2020-2021 U.S.