HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement articles from December 2007

HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement archives from December 2007

Predictive health: could it be a new paradigm for quality? Emory facility sees 'healthy' people in an attempt to avoid future disease.
December 1, 2007... A new facility in Atlanta is turning the concept of "health care" upside down. Rather that, treating sick patients, the health care professionals, called "partners", will see individuals, called "participants," who as far as they know are not...

Dramatic results achieved with MRSA initiative: gains significant in light of disturbing JAMA article.
December 1, 2007... The bad news: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a more widespread public health threat than scientists had previously thought. The good news: An award-winning program at Evanston (IL) Northwestern Healthcare demonstrates...

Color wristband program seeks to reduce errors: initiative borrows from earlier programs.(Report)
December 1, 2007... The Colorado Foundation for Medical Care (CFMC) and the Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) have partnered to initiate a statewide program that will standardize the colored wristbands worn by patients to indicate allergies, fall risk, and other...

Program increases patient, family involvement: patient safety initiative honors NPSG.(National Patient Safety Goals)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Increased patient involvement in their own care is encouraged by The Joint Commission and other organizations as one of the keys to improving patient safety. In fact, "encouraging patients' active involvement in their own care" is one of the...

Top hospitals record a 71% lower mortality rate: study shows variations continue between regions.
December 1, 2007... Patients who are treated at the nation's top-rated hospitals have on average a 71% lower chance of dying compared with the lowest-rated hospitals as reported in the 10th annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study. These outcomes were...

More focus needed on quality for kids.
December 1, 2007... New research findings that insured children in the United States get recommended medical care less than half of the time highlight the need for health reform to focus not only on increasing the number of insured, but also on improving the...

Leapfrog Group has two new quality awards.
December 1, 2007... The Leapfrog Group has begun accepting applications for two new health care quality awards. The Leapfrog Governance for Quality Award will be given to a hospital or health system whose board has most successfully mobilized the organization...

PA hospital report: quality is rising.
December 1, 2007... The 2006 hospital performance report issued by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council showed a significant decline in mortality rates. Carolyn F. Scanlan, president and CEO of the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of...

IHI to host 'world's largest gathering'.(Institute for Healthcare Improvement)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) will host its 19th annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care on Dec. 12, 2007, at Orlando World Center Marriott Resort & Convention Center in Florida. The event, which IHI claims...

Healthcare benchmarks and quality improvement 2007 index.(Report)
December 1, 2007... Awards Rural facility receives Baldridge award, FEB:16 IPRO, New York QIO win quality awards, MAY:56 Accreditation issues NCQA to require quality data for accreditation, APR:47 Benchmarking Leapfrog releases 1st 'Top...