Healthcare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement Archives – June 1, 2007
June 1, 2007
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VA Tech disaster response shows value of drills, planning
Despite the chaos and upheaval of the horrific tragedy that befell Virginia Tech on Monday morning, April 16, 2007, the orderly response from the medical community went pretty much according to plan. -
Counseling is essential following a disaster
The availability of group and individual counseling for hospital staff following two shootings within eight months of each other in Blacksburg, VA, was invaluable, says Mike Hill, RN, the ED director at Montgomery Regional Hospital, which treated 17 victims of the recent shootings at Virginia Tech. -
PSO: An evolving, critical role in health care quality
Whether they are called patient safety officers (as many now are), patient safety managers, or some other title, individuals whose overall responsibility at their facility or health system is minimizing errors and complying with safety standards such as The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals are gaining in both prominence and responsibility. -
Panel lays a framework for ethical conduct in QI
A wide-ranging group of experts convened by The Hastings Center has put forth some general understandings of quality improvement what it is, what role it plays in health care, and how ethical conduct can be ensured in QI projects. Their conclusions are reported in a new paper in the Annals of Internal Medicine. -
Don't have an ICU? You can still have an RRT
The "traditional" model of a rapid response team (RRT), as outlined by the Boston-based Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and employed by a large number of hospitals, is often driven by (and mainly staffed by) the ICU or other staff with critical care experience, such as critical care nurses. -
Data reveal 90% of ADEs not administration errors
While The Joint Commission and other organizations are paying a great deal of attention to safety in drug administration, a new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) indicates we may be doing a better job than many have thought. -
News Brief
According to the American Hospital Association's (AHA) second annual survey of hospital health IT use, hospitals continue to accelerate their use of health information technology, with 68% reporting that electronic health records had been fully or partially implemented as of fall 2006.