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Four years after the Joint Commission introduced standardized core performance measures with its 2002 ORYX initiative, quality professionals still are struggling to improve compliance with core measure data collection.
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Drawing on 20 years of quality improvement experience, MPRO, Michigans Health Care Quality Improvement Organization, is bringing together hospitals, home health agencies, and physician practices to come up with solutions to communications barriers between providers, with the ultimate goal of improving the outcomes for the states cardiovascular disease patients.
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released the final Hospital CAHPS (HCAHPS) survey instrument. The HCAHPS survey is the first national attempt to standardize patients satisfaction with care in order to make apples to apples comparisons.
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When a patient care problem or improvement opportunity has been identified, it must be resolved. If the problem is significant, it is important to take action as quickly as possible. Good ideas for resolving the problem are solicited from physicians and staff and the best solutions identified.
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A pharmacist noticed that two patients with the same name were admitted to the hospital on the same day. The pharmacist notified each unit and posted signs in the pharmacy warning staff of the coincidence, and encouraging them to use extra caution to verify that they were giving the correct medicine to the correct patient.
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Quality professionals at many organizations soon will be collecting additional data, as a result of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) final rule on the inpatient prospective payment system.
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)'s final rule on the inpatient prospective payment system requires hospitals to report on the full set of 21 Hospital Quality Alliance measures to get full payment updates, effective for discharges on or after October 1, 2006.
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This month, St. Joseph's Medical Center in Towson, MD, will begin discharging patients by appointment, in the latest phase of a three-year effort toward capacity maximization, says Jackie Connor, RN, MS, CCS, director of case management.
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Hospitals are making numerous changes in an attempt to improve the quality and safety of patient care services. These interventions could be a new program, practice, or initiatives such as staff training.
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With the advent of hospitalists, credentialing and privileging for medical staff members who no longer care for inpatients is a growing challenge for many organizations.
