Healthcare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement Archives – January 1, 2011
January 1, 2011
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Accountable care organizations in 'very early stages' of growth
Of all the recommendations of the new health care reform law, perhaps the one with the greatest potential for widespread improvement in quality and safety is the accountable care organization, or ACO, according to some experts. -
Wrong-site, wrong-patient surgeries persist
Despite significant attention to wrong-site and wrong-patient procedures, including The Joint Commission's "Universal Protocol" and checklists developed at prestigious institutions, a new study reports "a persisting high frequency of surgical 'never events.'" -
Motivate patients to stop smoking
A just-released study showing that smokers have significantly more complications post-surgery than non-smokers, including a higher death rate, coupled with new Medicare reimbursement for physicians who provide counseling to prevent tobacco use for outpatients and hospitalized patients have outpatient surgery managers taking a new look at smoking cessation programs. -
Details on complications smokers have after surgery
A recent study from The Cleveland (OH) Clinic found increased incidence of adverse outcomes among smokers. The study was presented at the Anesthesia 2010 meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. -
How one facility helps patients stop smoking
The University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center uses a variety of interventions to help patients stop or reduce smoking before elective surgery. -
TJC looks at caregiver communications
The Joint Commission's Center for Transforming Healthcare has teamed with 10 hospitals and health care systems to try to discover new solutions to the quality care problems associated with miscommunication between caregivers during hand-offs. -
Alert fatigue leads to OR fatalities
Alert fatigue can lead to behaviors in health care that might seem fine until the day they cause a tragedy, says John Banja, PhD, assistant director for health sciences and clinical ethics at Emory University in Atlanta. -
Take these steps to reduce alert fatigue
Involve physicians in the development and implementation of alert systems, rather than simply training them in the systems when you're ready to go live, says Linda Peitzman, MD, chief medical officer of Wolters Kluwer Health in Indianapolis.