HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement articles from September 2004

HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement archives from September 2004

Is it time to re-examine structure of your quality department? It may be an appropriate reaction to shifting market realities.
September 1, 2004... Doesn't it make sense that a commitment to continuously improving performance should include a periodic review of the organizational structure that governs your QI efforts? Several quality professionals contacted by Healthcare Benchmarks...

Program enables 50 new initiatives in four months: 'Transforming Care at the Bedside' program.
September 1, 2004... Seton Northwest Hospital in Austin, TX, launched nearly 50 new quality initiatives in a single four-month period after deciding to participate in the "Transforming Care at the Bedside" (TCAB) program, which was launched by the Robert Wood...

Research to practice is a hard journey, experts say: meeting stresses need of research-to-practice process.
September 1, 2004... "Evidence-based medicine"; the term just sounds right--doesn't it? Yet, while it flows easily off the tongues of quality professionals these days, that ease belies the true challenge of "TRIP," Translating Research into Practice, which served...

JCAHO resource compares more than 16,000 facilities: consumer-friendly language aids comparisons.(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)
September 1, 2004... As previously reported by Healthcare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement, hospital executives are paying more attention every day to report cards and other comparative data that provide information about hospital quality. (See HBQI, August 2004,...

Study shows 12-hour shifts increase errors: research on impact of long hours on nurses.
September 1, 2004... A study published on-line by the journal Health Affairs (1) indicates that hospital nurses working shifts of 12.5 hours or more are three times more likely to make an error than nurses working shorter shifts. The study is based on data...

JCAHO unveils National Patient Safety Goals.(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)
September 1, 2004... The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JACHO) has released its 2005 National Patient Safety Goals that will apply specifically to hospitals. The goals and associated requirements, which were approved by JCAHO's...

Leapfrog offers web-based compendium of incentives.(Leapfrog Group)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Leapfrog Group, based in Washington, DC, has developed the first public web-based compendium of incentive and reward programs aimed at improving health care in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The compendium is available free of...

CDC reports four deaths related to transplants.(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported four organ transplant recipients died of rabies after receiving organs from the donor, an Arkansas man who died in May of what was then diagnosed as a brain hemorrhage. The...

FCC: TRS use does not violate HIPAA privacy rule.(Federal Communications Commission)(telecommunications relay services)(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Federal Communications Commission has published a notice clarifying that telecommunications relay services (TRS) can be used to facilitate telephone calls between health care professionals and patients without violating the Health Insurance...

Software helps hospitals prepare for flu pandemic.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed a software program to help hospitals and public health officials prepare for the next flu pandemic. The spreadsheet-based software, FluSurge 1.0, estimates the potential surge in...