HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement articles from December 2008

HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement archives from December 2008

Press Ganey: public reporting gives huge boost to patient satisfaction: experts say internal changes, not public reaction, behind improvement.
December 1, 2008... Press Ganey Associates Inc., the South Bend, IN-based patient satisfaction and quality firm, reports that "patient satisfaction leaped" after the launch of public reporting. The company cites an "unprecedented" jump in hospital patient...

Leapfrog: quality assurance required with CPOE systems: wide variance in degree of adoptions, outcomes.
December 1, 2008... In its first-ever evaluation of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems in hospitals across the country, The Leapfrog Group found reason for concern when it came to proper implementation of these systems. In fact, the organization...

Anthem's P4P program wins Eisenberg award: door to balloon times, complication rates slashed.
December 1, 2008... Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia, a subsidiary of WellPoint Inc., based in Richmond, has received a 2008 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award for its development and implementation of performance-based reimbursement...

DNV granted deeming authority from CMS: the Joint Commission welcomes competition.
December 1, 2008... Is it the end of an era for The Joint Commission? Following on the heels of Congress' move to require the organization to reapply for deeming authority for the first time, DNV Healthcare on Sept. 26 was granted deeming authority from the...

New Sentinel Event Alert addresses blood thinners: anticoagulants once again hit center stage.
December 1, 2008... Anticoagulants, or blood thinners, have taken the mainstream media by storm with salacious tales of medical errors and tragic stories of babies' deaths. While you are dealing with the phase-in period on National Patient Safety Goal 3E, another...

The technology factor: is it our friend or our foe? New study highlights errors with bar coding.
December 1, 2008... While The Joint Commission is asking health care facilities to use computerized physician order entry and bar coding technology as an adjunct to arm themselves in managing high-risk medications including anticoagulants, a recent study...

Wristband standardization: why we aren't there yet: AHA issues quality advisory on wristband colors.(American Hospital Association )
December 1, 2008... In September, the American Hospital Association issued a quality advisory on implementing standardized colors for patient alert wristbands, citing a near miss when a nurse mistakenly placed a wrong-colored bracelet on a patient, confusing the...

Healthcare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement 2008 Index.
December 1, 2008... Awards Two health care systems bring home Baldrige award, FEB:21 Magnet facility credits communication for success, MAR:28 Approach for treating methadone patients created, JUL:66 Baylor systems takes annual NQF quality award,...