HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement articles from April 2009

HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement archives from April 2009

CMS demonstration project offers potential new collaboration model: hospitals, physicians will work together to improve efficiency, quality.
April 1, 2009... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) may be giving hospital quality managers and other leaders a glimpse of the future with its new Acute Care Episode (ACE) demonstration, which it "expects to demonstrate how to better coordinate...

Kentucky hospital saves close to 400 lives: getting 'Board on Board' initiatives one key to success.
April 1, 2009... Sometimes large numbers don't hit home as much as smaller ones. When the Institute for Healthcare Improvement launched its "5 Million Lives" campaign, the concept of saving five million lives was almost too large to get one's mind around. But...

Telemedicine improves care in child sexual assaults: majority of rural practitioners improve their processes.
April 1, 2009... Telemedicine has long been known to assist rural facilities in delivering more expert care in a number of specialties, but sexual assault examinations have not typically been among them. However, a new study in the journal Pediatrics shows that...

Does your documentation program stop short? Make sure the record is complete.
April 1, 2009... If your documentation assurance program focuses on reimbursement alone, you're not going far enough. With pay-for-performance initiatives on the rise and increasing mandates for public reporting of hospital data, it's critical that the medical...

Community network eases transition of care: hospital, nursing homes work together.
April 1, 2009... After Summa Health System began a series of initiatives to provide a seamless transition as patients move between levels of care, the rate of hospital readmissions within 31 days dropped from 26% to 24%. "Avoiding readmission is a challenge...

Use guidelines to improve pharmacy's performance: expert points to 8 domains.
April 1, 2009... Hospital pharmacies continually search for ways to improve quality, safety, and develop best practices. But they might not be going about this as efficiently and effectively as they can. A first step is to establish your institution's...

Discharge unit helps speed patient flow: ED goes more than 4 years without diversion.(emergency department)
April 1, 2009... ED managers agree that overcrowding and gridlock, while often manifested most graphically in their department, are decidedly hospital-wide issues, and the experience of Sarasota (FL) Memorial Hospital seems to prove their point. For several...