HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement articles from March 2005

HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement archives from March 2005

Don't let obsession with numbers take your eyes off your goals: percentile rankings can be moving target; focus on PI instead.
March 1, 2005... Key Points * The proliferation of comparative databases doesn't mean rankings have gained in significance. * Good benchmarking requires achieving a balance that incorporates quality, cost, and speed. * Measure success by the...

Blood glucose monitoring slashes mortality rates: new protocol also reduces LOS by nearly 11%.
March 1, 2005... Key Points * Gaining buy-in of intensive care unit nurses was critical to the success of the initiative. * Complex diabetes treatment issues required leaving some decisions to bedside nurses. * Projects success leads to...

Universal protocol cuts hip surgery fatalities: sentinel event leads to innovation solutions.
March 1, 2005... Key Points * Root-cause analysis employed to determine best way to proceed. * Medical management department takes lead role in developing new protocol. * New privileging requirements established for those conducting pre-op...

33% of fatal med errors involve insulin therapy: statistics spur conference seeking solutions.(medical errors)
March 1, 2005... Key Points * Use of computers seen as critical to successful error reduction initiatives. * Building teamwork takes time, money, and resources--but it's worth it. * Educational efforts must be customized to fit the patient's...

Know differences between kids and adults: cut errors: study points out key areas for safety improvement.
March 1, 2005... Key Points * One of every 100 patients has an adverse event; 60% of those were deemed to be preventable. * Birth-related, diagnosis-related, system-related errors greatest contributors to adverse events. * Very little pediatric...

Consumer coalition sets performance guidelines: rapid adoption of PI measures used.
March 1, 2005... A common coalition of more than 25 of the nation s leading consumer, employer, and labor organizations--called the Consumer-Purchaser Disclosure Project--has unveiled guidelines to promote rapid, industrywide adoption of performance measures to...

'Quality Plus' gains 39 early participants.(National Committee for Quality Assurance standards)
March 1, 2005... The Washington, DC-based National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) says that 39 health plans nationwide, collectively covering more than 11.5 million Americans, have committed to undergo surveys under the first of set of NCQA's new...

Bush seeks $125 million for health IT expansion.(George W. Bush)(information technology)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... President Bush, emphasizing the benefits of health information technology during a recent visit to the Cleveland Clinic, announced that his fiscal year 2006 budget proposal will include $125 million for demonstration projects to test the...

CMS expands Medicare coverage of ICDs.(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services )(implantable cardioverter defibrillators )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has decided to expand Medicare coverage of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) to prevent sudden death in people with heart disease. It said it expects the decision to increase the...