Healthcare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement Archives – June 1, 2010
June 1, 2010
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New health care law may spell opportunity for quality managers
The recently passed health care reform legislation may have generated controversy in political circles, but there appears to be a consensus among health care quality observers that it will strengthen the position of hospital quality managers and give their roles even greater importance. -
QI efforts lead to success in VTE prophylaxis
While Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston has been successful in reducing the incidents of venous thromboembolism (VTE), it has taken an ongoing effort and a combination of successful interventions, says Sylvia McKean, MD, SFHM, FACP, a senior hospitalist. "National and international registries have shown that prophylaxis is still underutilized," she says. -
SHM's VTE 'resource room'
The Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) developed a web-based educational resource for hospitalists, a VTE "resource room" (http://www.hospitalmedicine.org/ResourceRoomRedesign/RR_LandingPage.cfm). "The overarching goal of SHM was to bridge the gap between the best evidence in terms of medical prophylaxis and actual practice," Sylvia McKean, MD, SFHM, FACP, a senior hospitalist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, notes. -
From 'worst' to 'first' in pressure ulcer incidents
About six years ago, Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, MA, had the highest rate of pressure ulcers in the state; including Stage I patients, it was in the 20%-30% range. Today, the facility can boast 10 quarters of 0%, beginning in December 2005. -
Dealing with short discharge opportunities
When patients are admitted through the emergency department (ED) and multiple clinicians are involved with competing priorities in their care, discharge planning can be challenging. -
Ways a hospital can improve DP process
While hospitalists can provide consistency in the care of hospitalized patients, there can be drawbacks when it comes to transitions in care. -
Pharmacists conduct med rec at admission
Pharmacist involvement in medication reconciliation is so crucial to patient safety that one 450-plus-bed Wisconsin hospital invested considerable staff resources to make this a smooth process from admission through discharge. -
Survey sheds light on lack of senior planning
A new survey, conducted by a worldwide company that provides private, in-home care for older adults, suggests that older Americans and their adult children do a poor job of planning for their future needs as health begins to fail.