In the last issue of PSQH, I wrote about different takes on the concept of numerators and denominators. Kerry O’Connell leaves the comfortable world of uneventful patients (denominators) when he experiences preventable harm and joins the numerators. National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari, on the other hand, thinks of denominators as patients whose individual characteristics—including chronic and underlying conditions in need of treatment—may be invisible until brought to light through electronic records and analytics.

GOJO Industries, a leader in hand hygiene and skin health and inventors of PURELL® Hand Sanitizer, is assisting Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (TSRHC) in measuring and improving hand hygiene compliance through its SMARTLINK Activity Monitoring System.

Royal Philips Electronics has launched its Healthcare Transformation Services Business, which in collaboration with healthcare service providers, will offer consulting services to improve the operational and financial performance of hospitals and health systems, and improve patient outcomes  across the continuum of care from diagnosis to treatment and after care at home.

The latest report from the Institute of Medicine summarizes the work of the Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education. The Forum held two workshops in 2012 focused on the connection between inter-professional education and collaborative practice. The report summarizes the results of the workshops.

The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) has announced the winners of the 2013 Stand Up For Patient Safety Management Award. The award for a hospital-based project will go to JPS Health Network of Fort Worth, Texas. The award for ambulatory care will be given to the 97th Medical Group, Altus AFB, in Altus, Oklahoma.

The Board of Directors of the National Patient Safety Foundation announced today that Tejal K. Gandhi, MD, MPH, will become the Foundation’s next president, effective July 1. The announcement came at the opening session of the 15th Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress, which is being held this week in New Orleans.

Maximizing patient safety is the top priority for hospital C-Suite executives and Risk Managers in the United States – but, “lack of teamwork, negative culture and poor communication” will present barriers to patient safety in the future – according to a new survey commissioned by American International Group (AIG) in consultation with patient safety expert, Dr. Marty Makary, MD, MPH.

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has approved 51 new awards, totaling $88.6 million over three years, to fund patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) projects under the first four areas of its National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda. This brings the total that PCORI has awarded for projects addressing these priorities to $129.3 million. PCORI also has committed another $30 million in funding for a series of pilot projects.

Members of a new workgroup that will focus on identifying key considerations to improve patient safety and promote innovation in health information technology (Health IT), including mobile medical applications, have been selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The workgroup will report to the Health IT Policy Commitee which advises the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC).

Florida Hospital Tampa has adopted EarlySense, a bedside patient monitoring and centralized system. The EarlySense system offers medical professionals the ability to identify early warning signs of patient safety risk and a decline in health. Without ever physically touching the patient, the system measures heart rate, respiration rate, patient movement while in bed as well as how often a patient enters and exits the hospital bed by utilizing a sensor that is placed under the mattress of a bed.

The Doctors Company Foundation, in partnership with the Lucian Leape Institute at the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), has announced this year’s winners of The Doctors Company Foundation Young Physicians Patient Safety Awards, which recognize young physicians for their deep personal insight into the significance of patient safety work.

The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) has announced the winners of the 2013 Stand Up For Patient Safety Management Award. The award for a hospital-based project will go to JPS Health Network of Fort Worth, Texas. The award for ambulatory care will be given to the 97th Medical Group, Altus AFB, in Altus, Oklahoma.

Frontier Medicine Better Health Partnership (FMBHP) and Vree Health – a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. focused on technology-enabled services designed to improve the reach, cost-efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare – has announced a collaboration designed to improve care transitions and reduce hospital readmission rates for patients in rural areas.

A new not-for-profit, statewide organization aimed at strengthening hospital-based patient safety and quality improvement activities has been launched by the California Hospital Association (CHA) and the three affiliated Regional Associations.

In reviewing 25 years of U.S. malpractice claim payouts, Johns Hopkins researchers found that diagnostic errors — not surgical mistakes or medication overdoses — accounted for the largest fraction of claims, the most severe patient harm, and the highest total of penalty payouts. Diagnosis-related payments amounted to $38.8 billion between 1986 and 2010, they found.

Normally, it doesn’t matter much where I’m from. But, last week, being a long-time resident of the Boston area suddenly came to the forefront. Though I was not ordered to “stay safe at home,” I did and found it hard to concentrate on anything other than news of the Boston Marathon bombings and related manhunt. In the outpouring of information, Boston’s medical community and related media outlets provided some of the best reporting, with news and reflection of lasting value.

Medical Simulation Corporation (MSC) has releases an updated version of the SimSuite Sepsis Quality Initiative Program that aligns with the Surviving Sepsis Campaign International Guidelines for Management of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock 2012 Guidelines released earlier this year at the 2013 Society for Critical Care Medicine Annual Congress.

Missouri Health Connection (MHC) has announced that Bates County Memorial Hospital has signed up as the newest participant of Missouri’s statewide health information network (HIN).

HealthTrust Purchasing Group (HealthTrust), one of the largest health care supply contracting companies in the United States, has awarded IRadimed Corporation a contract for its MRidium™ MRI Infusion Pump Systems.

As states continue to build health insurance exchanges (HIXs) for use by the Jan. 1, 2014, deadline set forth in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there is another aspect of the ACA that has received little attention – the requirement that by Jan. 1, 2015, HIXs cannot contract with a hospital of 50 beds or more unless that hospital has a patient safety evaluation system and reports data to a patient safety organization (PSO).

In a highly innovative move, unprecedented in New Jersey, a health insurer and a hospital system – AmeriHealth New Jersey and Cooper University Health Care – have announced that Cooper will acquire a 20 percent interest in AmeriHealth New Jersey. This venture intends to transform health care in the state by increasing quality and lowering costs through a more highly coordinated care model.

Top-tier patient safety authorities will share the latest evidence-based information and resources related to one of the most significant challenges in today’s healthcare environment during the Patient Safety Summit in Boston.

GE Healthcare and HCA’s Summerville Medical Center have collaborated to develop and deploy a data driven technology solution that tracks hand washing data as it relates to patient care through the use of small sensor tags.

Mayo Clinic has launched a new video series, Saving Lives With Gus, which is designed to educate, entertain and deliver life-saving tips with high-tech mannequins. The series will be made available to media outlets as well as straight to the public through social media channels.

Emergency medical services system (EMS) responders provide the first point of care in unique environments and are at often at high risk of exposure to biohazards and infectious diseases. Understanding the critical importance of infection prevention in the daily delivery of care is imperative.

Welch Allyn has launched its new FlexiPort® EcoCuff™ single-patient-use blood pressure cuff. As hospitals continue to fight the never-ending battles against both cross-contamination and rising costs, EcoCuff provides a solution for both issues while also having less environmental impact than other disposable blood pressure cuffs.

PDC-St. John announced the extension of its Securline^® Hybrid Style Bar Code Blood Band. The blood recipient ID wristband system provides automated patient identification for blood transfusion, specimen collection, and tracking to improve patient safety and workflow efficiencies in hospitals and blood banks. With the addition of six new Blood Band product lines, PDC-St. John now offers the widest selection of blood bank ID solutions in the healthcare marketplace.