HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement articles from October 2003

HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement archives from October 2003

Patient-focused care boosts patient satisfaction while enhancing safety: wide variety of technology brings care directly to the patient.
October 1, 2003... Key Points * Bringing treatment to patients lessens their pain and suffering. * Services delivered at point of care include monitoring and testing. * New technology helps avoid handoffs of patients and information. From...

Checkoffs play key role in SICU improvement: checklist helps team follow care plan.
October 1, 2003... Key Points * Unit sees 25% drop in mortality following implementation of new form. * Checklist not a to-do list, but enumeration of clinical, safety goals. * All members of the multidisciplinary team are involved in process. ...

Program distinguishes illness from disease: medical students to 'walk in shoes' of patients.
October 1, 2003... Key Points * Student teams will pay eight home visits in two-year program. * Topics will examine the impact of disease on patients and their family members. * First-year med students form beliefs that will last their whole career....

HFAP survey earns facility referral status: stays with JCAHO, now has two certifications.
October 1, 2003... (Editor's note: In the cover story for our September 2003 issue, we examined the growing number of alternatives to JCAHO accreditation. This article takes a closer look at one facility that chose such an alternative and why.) Key Points...

IOM cites core functions to improve EHR systems: setting standards prior to widespread adoption.
October 1, 2003... Key Points * Key elements must address quality, efficiency, and feasibility. * Committee piggybacks on ongoing study for faster results. * Common industry standard for software developers being created. As part of a national...

Audio conference clarifies final EMTALA regulations.
October 1, 2003... The final version of the recently proposed changes to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) takes effect Nov. 10. To provide you with critical information on the updated regulations from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...

Hospital safety initiative targets behavioral health unit: falls committee takes careful look at geropsych issues.
October 1, 2003... The behavioral health department may not be the first place you would look to launch a patient safety initiative, but the team at Overlook Hospital in Summit, NJ, is expecting just such an undertaking to yield big dividends. Two years ago,...

Study shows safety risks for children, value of tool: algorithms target processes with patient safety.
October 1, 2003... A new study of 3.8 million discharge records for children indicates that these younger patients experienced substantial numbers of potentially preventable patient safety problems during hospital stays in 1997. This is the first...

HHS, hospital associations team up for patient safety.
October 1, 2003... The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the American Medical Association (AMA), has announced a campaign to help distribute valuable information about improving...