HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement articles from September 2003

HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement archives from September 2003

QI professionals take harder look at alternatives to JCAHO accreditation: burdensome costs, questionable link between surveys and quality.(quality improvement)(Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations)
September 1, 2003... It may be that at one time the desire to seek accreditation from the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations was a given among hospital quality professionals, but a growing number of them no longer consider the...

New model developed for outbreak readiness: response plan goes beyond bioterror.
September 1, 2003... A downloadable software program has just been made available to help hospitals and health systems plan antibiotic dispensing and vaccination campaigns to respond to bioterrorism or large-scale natural disease outbreaks. Funded by the...

PI fairs--a fun way to share results: staff not involved in projects also can benefit.(performance improvement )
September 1, 2003... Looking for a fun way to share your accomplishments with the rest of the staff, and teach them a little bit about quality to boot? Why not try a performance improvement fair? That's what Ruby Redfield, BSN, RHIA, CPHQ, director of...

New HEDIS areas include population health, service: measures for 2004 target timeliness, clinical care.(Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set)
September 1, 2003... The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), which accredits managed care plans, has released 10 new measures for health plans to use in evaluating and improving the quality of their clinical care and customer service. Three of the...

Report: CPOE adoption a long-term process: physician-led, multidisciplinary committees.(computerized physician order entry)
September 1, 2003... A new report based on research co-sponsored by the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) of Oakland and First Consulting Group (FCG) of Long Beach, CA, shows that the successful adoption of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) actually...

Survey: hospital patients are more satisfied.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Hospitals outscored eight other industries in a recent customer satisfaction survey by J.D. Power and Associates. In the survey of 2,350 randomly selected patients recently discharged from general acute-care hospitals, three out of four...

HHS to support paperless medical records system.(Department of Health and Human Services)
September 1, 2003... The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has initiated two new steps in building an electronic health care system that will allow patients and their physicians to access their complete medical records as needed, leading to reduced...