HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement articles from July 2007

HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement archives from July 2007

Response is mixed on CMS value-based purchasing paper: some question whether all ramifications have been considered.
July 1, 2007... If the reaction to the options paper released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on value-based purchasing does anything, it points out clearly just how difficult--if not impossible--it will be to create a plan that makes...

'Value exchanges' next step in HHS QI initiative: goal is person- and population-centered health.
July 1, 2007... The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has unveiled a new phase of its Value-Driven Health Care Initiative, an undertaking with several components all designed to support QI through public reporting of cost and quality data. The...

Study shows best practices do improve outcomes: randomized study shows where improvement needed.(Clinical report)
July 1, 2007... One of the most challenging issues for quality anagers is demonstrating that best QI practices can actually improve outcomes. Demonstrating such success requires a good deal of time and resources. In light of this challenge, the results of a...

WHO unveils patient strategies to redesign care: Joint Commission bodies coordinate effort.
July 1, 2007... The World Health Organization (WHO) has published nine strategies aimed at assisting member states in the redesign care process to prevent human errors in patient care. The strategies, developed by WHO's Collaborating Centre for Patient Safety...

PA partnership publishes IT recommendations: public-private coalition unveils four-phase plan.
July 1, 2007... The Pennsylvania e-Health Initiative (PAeHI), a public-private coalition, has unveiled a set of health information technology recommendations designed to improve the quality of Pennsylvania's health care and reduce costs, while giving patients...

AHRQ: good news, bad news on gender discrepancies.
July 1, 2007... Although there are signs of improvement in some conditions, differences in the quality of health care provided to men and women continue to persist, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality...

Phone-based therapy eases depression.
July 1, 2007... When people receive brief telephone-based psychotherapy soon after starting on antidepressant medication, strong positive effects may continue 18 months after their first session. So concludes a group health study in the April Journal of...

Hospital adopts aviation-based strategies to improve safety: teamwork emphasized in model created by NASA.
July 1, 2007... Evanston (IL) Northwestern Healthcare (ENH) has joined a growing number of health care organizations that are drawing on strategies the airline industry has used to reduce errors. Using its Center of Maternal and Fetal Health for its pilot...