HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement articles from December 2006

HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement archives from December 2006

Institute of medicine recommends new P4P system for Medicare: P4P should be phased in, IOM committee recommends.
December 1, 2006... Joining a growing group of organizations that finds merit in a pay-for-performance approach to quality improvement, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has recommended that Medicare should gradually replace its current fee-for-service payment...

Specimen labeling QI project cuts error rate: weekly feedback to ED aided improvement.(quality improvement)
December 1, 2006... In one year, the emergency department's contribution to major mislabeling events at Boston Medical Center was reduced from 47% (23/49) to 14% (4/29) thanks to a proactive quality improvement program initiated by Karen Quillen, MD, of the...

Award winner engages all sectors to improve quality: MAPS helps pass legislature on public reporting.
December 1, 2006... Many health care quality proponents are under the impression that, while there is much they can do within the hospital setting to improve patient safety and quality, their impact is limited when it comes to much-needed changes in public policy....

NQF updates serious reportable events: one new event, six materially changed.(National Quality Forum)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... In 2002, the National Quality Forum (NQF) endorsed a list of 27 adverse events that are serious, largely preventable, and of concern to both the public and healthcare providers for the purpose of public accountability (See previous story)....

Sleep standard compliance low, new study shows: lack of sleep may endanger patients, providers.
December 1, 2006... Standards put in place in 2003 to ensure ample sleep for interns are not being complied with, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (1) The standards, implemented by the Accreditation Council for...

NCQA highlights benefits of quality measurement: but quality gaps remain in some areas.(National Committee for Quality Assurance )
December 1, 2006... After 10 years of collecting, analyzing, and reporting quality data, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) asserts in its latest report, The State of Health Care Quality 2006, that the results demonstrate "the long-term...

McKesson names winners for quality prize.
December 1, 2006... The 2006 AHA McKesson Quest for Quality Prize winner and merit winners were announced in the October issue of the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. The winner was Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and...

AHRQ study: nurse-led care benefits HF patients.
December 1, 2006... An AHRQ-funded study published in the August 15 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine indicates that patients with heart failure whose care was directed by nurse managers could perform everyday activities better and had fewer hospitalizations...