Editor’s Notebook

Are We There Yet?

By Susan Carr

This article has been moved to the following URL: http://psqh.com/blog/editors-notebook-are-we-there-yet73

Hand Hygiene

Compliance Improvement through Technology

By Tom Inglesby

According to The World Health Organization (WHO; 2010), at least 7 of every 100 hospitalized patients in developed countries—and 10 out of 100 in developing countries—will experience a hospital-acquired infection (HAI). To reduce the risk, WHO recommends specific hand hygiene methods involving soap and water or an alcohol-based sanitizer.

ISMP

That’s the way we do things around here!

By The Institute for Safe Medication Practices

Studies have long supported that an organization’s safety culture is the most critical, underlying predictor of accomplishments related to safety (Clarke, 1999; Randell, 2003; Zohar, 1980; Carroll et al., 2002; Scott et al., 2003). A multitude of definitions of safety culture exist, but none are more telling than “that’s the way we do things around here” (Wakefield et al., 2010).

Team Training

Shared Learning for True Teamwork

By Tom Hanson, MA

Commitment, not compliance, is the goal. Today’s healthcare organizations seem to be shifting from a command-and-control style to one of increased collaboration among all levels of the hospital. Interdepartmental collaboration, too, has taken center stage as the importance of service lines and managing populations becomes apparent. Today’s healthcare professionals desire and need to be involved in the continuum of the patient experience, which may extend beyond their traditional departmental duties.

Taking a DNA “Time Out” to Ensure Accuracy

By Andrew S. Kenler, MD

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the United States. In fact, it accounts for nearly one in three cancers diagnosed in U.S. women (2012).

Partnership Improves OB Safety in New York State

Unique state initiative focuses on team training to standardize and manage EFM.

By Kathleen Ciccone, RN, MBA; Christa R. Christakis, MPP; Andrea Mathis, MPH; and Patricia Montone Charvat

The safety of mothers and babies is paramount—and there have been significant technological advancements that help to ensure healthier babies and improved fetal outcomes. Although there are many avenues and approaches to obstetrical (OB) safety, in New York State a unique partnership between physicians and other clinicians, hospitals, and the state health department is focused on standardizing the definitions and interpretation of electronic fetal monitoring (EFM).

Hand Hygiene: Necessary but Not Sufficient

By Tom Inglesby

Common sense, at least since Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1676 and Louis Pasteur in 1862, has dictated that we should be cautious of germs. Leeuwenhoek is credited with being the first microbiologist and Pasteur with developing germ theory in his work in the same field. Today, everyone in the hospital—where patients are weakened and more susceptible to HAI (hospital-acquired infection)—is admonished to avoid contact with germ-contaminated surfaces.

The IT/Clinical Engineering Governance Gap

Is your organization ready to support safety-critical systems?

By Tim Gee

With certain patient safety issues, the “system” is responsible for the root cause of a problem rather than the actions of those participating in the situation resulting in an adverse event. Clinical activities to which “the system” may contribute risk  include patient handoffs between clinicians, medication administration, diagnosis of disease, and many others.

Health IT & Quality

Patient-Centered Workflow

By Barry P. Chaiken, MD, FHIMSS

In the design of successful healthcare information technology implementations, patients matter. Although the importance of addressing the workflow needs of clinicians cannot be overstated, focusing on patient needs helps ensure newly designed workflows leverage the full capabilities of information technology tools. In addition, this delivers the clinical and financial outcomes desired by organizations.

American College of Surgeons

The Critical Importance of Good Data to Improving Quality

By Clifford Ko, MD, MSHS

The ability to fairly, accurately, and meaningfully measure—and remeasure—the quality of healthcare is a challenging prerequisite to assessing and improving it.
Simply put, you cannot demonstrably improve what you cannot measure; and to measure, you need good data—data that are fair, accurate, and robust. Good data allow you not only to assess the quality of care, but also to measure the effect of the quality improvement intervention. Continuous quality improvement depends on determining what improves quality and what doesn’t by using good data to continually assess and reassess healthcare quality.