HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement articles from March 2007

HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement archives from March 2007

Growth of hospital-based palliative care programs surges: programs meeting the specialized needs of patient population.
March 1, 2007... If your hospital doesn't have a palliative care program it soon may, if current statistics are any indication. The New York City-based Center to Advance Palliative Care's (CAPC) analysis of data released in the 2007 American Hospital...

Clinicians seek program to program uniformity.
March 1, 2007... While the rapid growth of hospital-based palliative care programs is the good news, the bad news is the wide range of quality and standards that exist, notes Betty Ferrell, PhD, RN, research scientist at City of Hope National Medical Center in...

Study shows link between safety and satisfaction: two-way connection for hospitals.
March 1, 2007... A new study initiated by patient satisfaction firm Press Ganey Associates Inc., of South Bend, IN, appears to show a strong correlation between hospitals that perform well on their patient satisfaction surveys and the stronger performers in the...

VHA initiates regional RRT collaborative program: recognition process takes note of top performers.
March 1, 2007... VHA West Coast, based in El Segundo, CA, has successfully launched a regional collaborative for rapid response teams, which it has made available to 118 acute care hospitals in six states. "Our overall goal was to help our member hospitals...

Patients view errors more broadly than clinicians: understanding patients' perceptions is a must.(Clinical report)
March 1, 2007... Even though you may be meeting all of your clinical guidelines for preventing errors, your patients may not necessarily share your assessment that things are going well. A new study in the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety...

Plan to attend medical error disclosure audio conference.(Conference news)
March 1, 2007... Intense feelings of anxiety and humiliation, not to mention fears of being sued or professionally censured, are extremely common. Not surprisingly, the appearance of defensive and self-protective strategies that urge concealment are common as...

Balance Center aims to prevent falls: hospital considers wellness part of mission.
March 1, 2007... While Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) University Hospital Hamilton (NJ) is as committed as any other facility to provide quality care for its inpatients, the leaders of the hospital believe their responsibility to the well-being of local residents...

Docs get free electronic prescribing software.
March 1, 2007... A coalition of technology companies, health plans, and providers will be offering electronic prescribing software free to all physicians. The National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative will offer software by Allscripts, called eRx NOW,...

Pennsylvania quality alliance formed.
March 1, 2007... A group of Pennsylvania health care providers and insurers has formed a new organization, the Pennsylvania Health Care Quality Alliance, to "foster transparency in health care and improve patient health." During the next year, the goals for the...