Healthcare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement Archives – May 1, 2009
May 1, 2009
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Montana RHIO seeks to improve patient safety and efficiency
Members of the Health Information Exchange of Montana (HIEM), a Regional Health Information Organization in the northwestern part of the state, have begun using a computerized system that will help them integrate patient data across hospitals and clinics in the region. So far, Northwest Healthcare and Family Health Care has been using the technology, but by the end of this summer most members will be online. -
'Clinical triggers' program cuts cardio arrest rate
Rapid response teams, in the classic sense, may not be the best option for all hospitals, as a recent article in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety clearly shows. -
Tumor registry aids in ongoing QI efforts
At the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center at Fairview Hospital, "quality" is more than a word, says Susan Dunson, MSN, RN, OCN, administrator of oncology services. "Our mission statement includes the word 'quality,' and we're always looking for ways to measure it," she says. -
Health care services are becoming more integrated
In some ways, the direction health care is heading could be seen as a back-to-the-future scenario. -
Scribes help ED avoid expense of hiring PAs
The hiring of physician scribes, known as "clinical information managers," has helped Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, a five-hospital system based in Laguna Hills, CA, to save a significant amount of money by avoiding the hiring of physician assistants (PAs) for its two EDs. -
ED leader: Scribes have many benefits
When Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, a five-hospital system in Laguna Hills, CA, hired scribes for its two EDs and eliminated the need for physician assistants, it saved a significant amount of money. However, that's not the only financial benefit the EDs have realized, says Marc Taub, MD, FACEP, medical director of the Saddleback Memorial ED. -
Redesign helps EDs improve patient flow
The ED managers and administrators at Cuyahoga Falls (OH) General Hospital and the Greater Baltimore (MD) Medical Center agree that careful attention to design considerations in their new departments significantly improved patient flow and communications among staff members. -
Patient education program slashes ED readmissions
A new initiative at Boston University Medical Center called the Re-Engineered Hospital Discharge Program (RED) has significantly reduced additional ED visits and readmissions. Thirty days after their hospital discharge, the 370 patients who participated in the RED program had 30% fewer subsequent ED visits and readmissions than the 368 patients who did not. -
ENA study cites barriers to NPSG compliance
While the response rate (4.6%) was small, the message delivered in the results of a survey by the Emergency Nurses' Association (ENA) was huge: Significant barriers still remain to compliance with National Patient Safety Goals (NSPGs) in the ED. -
New ED processes remove barriers
While removing the many barriers to National Patient Safety Goal compliance that exist in the ED is not always easy, it can be done, as demonstrated by some of the safety improvement processes instituted in the ED at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington. -
Understand the intent of NPSGs
One of the keys to improving your ED's adherence to the National Patient Safety Goals is to "appreciate their intent," says Susan Paparella, RN, MSN, vice president of the Institute of Safe Medication Practices in Horsham, PA, and one of the authors of a recent article in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety that addressed many of the reasons EDs have difficulty complying with the goals. -
Know CB requirements when referring to PA care
Discharge planners and others might find the rules confusing with regards to consolidated billing (CB) under the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997. This may be particularly true when patients are discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and home health services.