HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement articles from May 2005

HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement archives from May 2005

Bar coding helps hospitals reduce medication errors: tracking error reduction proves challenging, but users are pleased.
May 1, 2005... Key Points * Patient ID band info cross-checked, along with meds that have been ordered. * Repackaging manufacturers' labels ensures 100% coverage. * Users agree cost should not be an issue when safety is on the line. It...

Study: CPOE facilitates 22 types of medication errors: systems must be implemented carefully.(computerized physician order entry)
May 1, 2005... Key Points * Fragmentation of data and human/machine interface are two key sources of potential errors. * Make sure your system accounts for the total flow of products, services, and people. * Avoid complacency; newer systems mean...

Do your e-mails comply with new security regs? HIPAA regs cover security and confidentiality.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 )
May 1, 2005... Key Points * Patient identifiers are a key consideration in addressing confidentiality of electronic communications. * Sending outside e-mails via the Internet poses significant security challenges. * Check with your privacy...

AI journey for hospital will focus on the positive: balancing other projects that focus on errors.(Anatomy of an initiative)(appreciative inquiry program at Children's Medical Center in Dallas)
May 1, 2005... Key Points * Risk managers may be in an ideal position to put system weaknesses in perspective. * Consider holding planning meetings off-campus for a quiet, private atmosphere. * The ideal dissemination pattern for a new...

Quality program fosters hospitalwide improvement: award-winning facility affects safety, satisfaction.(Northwestern Memorial Hospital)
May 1, 2005... Key Points * The facility had 45 active QI projects in past year; 19 were completed. * Improvements cover breadth of facility, from safety to satisfaction to finances. * A total of 28,000 patients were affected in a single fiscal...

Mandatory error reporting systems concern hospitals.
May 1, 2005... Most hospital leaders have serious reservations about mandatory error reporting systems, according to a survey of hospital executives in six states. The study appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association....