HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement articles from July 2003

HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement archives from July 2003

Common performance measures: worthy goal or unrealistic aim? Differences in institution size, culture present biggest challenge.
July 1, 2003... Key Points * The American Hospital Association's initiative brings issue of common performance measures front and center. * Organizations seem to be jockeying for position of pre-eminence. * Having one set of standards would ease...

Benchmarking fine-tunes health efforts for workers; post-merger project reaffirms areas of excellence.
July 1, 2003... Key Points * A need was seen for uniform data sets, identification of best practices. * Benchmarking project helps reveal department's strengths and weaknesses. * Using an outside consultant helped ensure objectivity. ...

Restructuring fosters better communication; improvements result in prestigious award.(Sutter Health Sacramento)
July 1, 2003... Key Points * Case management, physicians, and nurses define clinical practice guidelines. * Staff reconnected to hospital structure as reporting lines shift. * Modified gatekeeping system eliminates redundant, rare authorizations....

BP guidelines establish pre-hypertension diagnosis; new level to identify at-risk individuals earlier.(blood pressure)
July 1, 2003... Key Points * Hypertension, other major blood pressure categories altered. * Drug treatment recommendations are simplified and strengthened. * About 30% of people with hypertension don't know they have it. New clinical practice...

New AHRQ Internet tool checks patient safety.(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
July 1, 2003... The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in Rockville, MD, has developed a new web-based tool that can help hospitals enhance their patient safety performance by quickly detecting potential medical errors in patients who have...

Better work force training to improve quality of care.
July 1, 2003... Changes are needed in the education of physicians, nurses, and other health professionals to improve patient safety and quality of care, according to a new report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in Washington, DC. For example, the IOM says...

JCAHO revises scoring for patient safety goal.(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has changed how it scores organizations on its National Patient Safety Goal to eliminate wrong-site, wrong-patient, wrong-procedure surgery. The goal includes a recommendation...

Organizations unveil patient safety road map: consensus report endorses 30 specific practices.
July 1, 2003... Some of the nation's leading health care and consumer groups have endorsed 30 patient safety practices they describe as a road map for better patient safety. These practices, they say, should be used universally in health care settings to...

PA state legislature puts patient safety in spotlight: new law requires patient safety committee, officer.(Pennsylvania )
July 1, 2003... The health care industry may have what amounts to a love-hate relationship with government involvement in health care practices, but patient safety advocates in Pennsylvania can, at the very least, take heart in the intent of a new law recently...