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January / February 2005
Proceedings from the Quality Colloquium At Harvard University
Introduction
In this issue, Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare continues to present proceedings from The Quality Colloquium, which was held in August 2004 on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. More than 300 healthcare executives, clinicians, and patient care staff attended the Colloquium to learn from internationally known experts about reducing medical errors, improving patient safety, and enhancing healthcare quality. Many of those experts have captured key points from their presentations for publication in this series in PSQH.
In this issue, we have articles that represent some of the wide range of important issues covered at the Colloquium.
When Samantha Collier, M.D., spoke at the Colloquium, debate about HealthGrades' controversial report, Patient Safety in American Hospitals, was still reverberating through the media and healthcare community. Collier, HealthGrades' vice president for medical affairs and co-author of the report, discusses the purpose, methodology, and results of the report in "Patient Safety in American Hospitals: The Consumer Has a Right to Know."
As chairman of the Texas Medical Institute of Technology and the Leapfrog NQF Safe Practices Program, Charles Denham, M.D., is a prominent leader in patient safety innovation. In "Partnering with Suppliers to Improve Patient Safety," he makes a strong case for the need to develop new relationships between healthcare institutions and the suppliers from which they purchase products, technology, and services.
"One Piece of the Patient Safety Puzzle: Advantages of the Six Sigma Approach," by Carolyn Pexton, reviews the value of Six Sigma to improving healthcare quality. Coming from GE, one of the industry leaders in applying Six Sigma to business practices, Pexton offers a succinct introduction to this valuable methodology.
- Proceedings from the Quality Colloquium at Harvard University:
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