Hospital Peer Review articles from October 2008

Hospital Peer Review archives from October 2008

Using antibiotic stewardship programs to curb resistance in fight against HAIs.
October 1, 2008... Using antibiotic stewardship programs to curb resistance in fight against HAIs With the arrival of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid's no-pay rules, The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals, and the ever-growing emphasis on...

Making your doctors, PharmDs play nice.
October 1, 2008... Making your doctors, PharmDs play nice When Hunterdon Medical Center added doctoral-level pharmacists to initiatives to stem antibiotic resistance, productive interaction between the PharmDs and the other medical staff became crucial to its...

Reversing the trend of resistant infections.
October 1, 2008... Reversing the trend of resistant infections Cutting costs with automated screening "It was pretty primitive, what we were doing," says Sarah Bland, RPh, senior clinical pharmacist, Center for Drug Policy at the University of Wisconsin...

Pending legislation, standards on HAIs.
October 1, 2008... Pending legislation, standards on HAIs With the STAAR bill, which in part would establish an Office of Antimicrobial Resistance under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services, pending in Congress, what other regulations...

Oversight group holds RCA teams accountable.(root cause analysis )
October 1, 2008... Oversight group holds RCA teams accountable Don't let process get off track The Joint Commission requires a "thorough and credible" root cause analysis (RCA) for all Sentinel Events, but the process is sometimes less effective than...

Improving surgical outcomes with data tool.
October 1, 2008... Improving surgical outcomes with data tool Keep your finger on the pulse with objective data The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) began in 1994 in response to concern over the quality of care, specifically...

Getting board members on board with education.
October 1, 2008... Getting board members on board with education State requirements for trustees changing Several states are re-energizing hospital board member education efforts with moves to certify and mandate educational requirements. Minnesota has...

Is the 'Patients' Right to Know' constitutional?
October 1, 2008... Is the 'Patients' Right to Know' constitutional? Florida legislation making medical records public Dubbed the "Patients' Right to Know Amendment," Florida's Amendment 7 has hospital watchdogs and consumer rights groups up in arms about...

The Joint Commission talks about pain.
October 1, 2008... The Joint Commission talks about pain The Joint Commission announced it is launching a campaign to help people work with their care providers in managing pain. The initiative is part of the organization's Speak Up program and coincided with...

CMS extends deadline for HCAHPS data.
October 1, 2008... CMS extends deadline for HCAHPS data The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the deadline for submitting HCAHPS data. Hospitals can submit data for Jan. 1-March 31 discharges to qualitynet.org by 11:50 CST, July 16. ...

CNE objectives/questions.
October 1, 2008... CNE objectives To earn continuing education (CNE) credit for subscribing to Hospital Peer Review, CNE participants should be able to: *Identify a particular clinical, legal, or educational issue related to quality improvement and...