Hospital Peer Review – June 1, 2007
June 1, 2007
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Your hospital's medical errors may soon become public knowledge
The general public already can find out what percentile your organization scored in when it comes to quality measures for conditions such as acute myocardial infarction or pneumonia. -
Team training is "huge opportunity" for safety
Better teamwork. It sounds like a simple strategy, but this goal has proved surprisingly elusive for many health care organizations. -
The Quality - Cost Connection: RCAs need leaders' care and feeding
The greater amount of top leadership involvement in a root cause analysis (RCA), the greater the likelihood of significant patient safety improvements. Senior leaders don't need to be appointed to RCA teams but some level of leadership oversight and intervention is important throughout the life of the investigation. -
Patient Satisfaction Planner: Study shines light on poor transfer communications
Quality improvement professionals have long known of the difficulties involved in discharge communications between hospital-based physicians and primary care physicians, but in the words of one observer, "This is the first time the problem has been quantified." -
Patient Satisfaction Planner: How accurate are patient satisfaction surveys?
When it comes to quality assurance in the customer service arena, those patient satisfaction surveys that have become ubiquitous in health care may not be providing accurate feedback, suggests Michael Friedberg, FACHE, CHAM, a manager with Besler Consulting in Princeton, NJ. -
Patient Satisfaction Planner: Assess patient satisfaction with communications
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is developing a survey instrument to measure how effectively hospitals address patients' health literacy needs. -
Patient Satisfaction Planner: Leapfrog hospital survey gets tougher
This year, the Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey will include the types of questions asked by other national initiatives such as The Joint Commission, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's 100,000 Lives campaign, says to the Washington, DC-based organization. -
Accreditation Field Report: Surveyors look at newborn security, staff competencies
Has your organization ever conducted a "Code Adam" drill, which simulates how staff would respond if there were an attempt to abduct a baby from the obstetrics ward during a fire drill? -
Don't overlook patients with low health literacy
Patients are being put at risk because important health care information is communicated in medical jargon that exceeds their literary skills, according to a new white paper from The Joint Commission.