HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement articles from March 2008

HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement archives from March 2008

OHRP action shuts down quality improvement research in Michigan: conflict raises confusion about the need for informed consent.
March 1, 2008... Recent actions taken by the U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) have resulted in the temporary suspension of collaborative research of Johns Hopkins University and Michigan hospitals...

Magnet facility credits communication for success: designation result of sharing of best practices.
March 1, 2008... Baptist Health System of Jacksonville, FL, has become one of only 13 health care systems nationwide to achieve recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as a Magnet health care system, an international quality designation...

Bidding systems address U.S. nursing shortage: leaders realize significant savings, boost safety.
March 1, 2008... While nursing shortages are seen in nearly very market in the United States, the state of Louisiana has been hit with a double-whammy, following Hurricane Katrina and the attendant loss of health care professionals through relocation. To help...

VAP: just how good a benchmark is it really? VAP hard to measure in 'concrete, reproducible terms'.
March 1, 2008... The headline pulls no punches. It reads: "Ventilator-associated pneumonia--the wrong quality measure for benchmarking." (1) This stunning headline, which heralded a "Perspective" article in a recent edition of Annals of Internal Medicine, will...

'Modest' benefits seen with use of hospitalists: no significant improvement in patient outcomes.
March 1, 2008... As the use of hospitalists continues to grow, the ability to demonstrate the benefits of having these professionals on staff also grows in importance. Accordingly, the findings of a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine (1) should be...

Leapfrog Group names Leah Binder new CEO.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The Leapfrog Group has appointed Leah Binder, MA, MGA, CEO, effective March 10. Binder is vice president of Franklin Community Health Network based in Farmington, ME. She also serves as executive director of the Healthy Community Coalition and...

QUEST advisors named.
March 1, 2008... The Premier health care alliance has named the advisory panel for its "QUEST: High Performing Hospitals" program. The panel will provide external guidance and direction to the project. QUEST is a three-year program through which more than...