Victim Advocate Serves the Community at Cleveland Clinic
Ashley Withrow, MSSA, LISW-S, is a member of the Cleveland Clinic’s police department and has served the community as a victim advocate since February 2014. In that role, Withrow, supports anyone connected to the Clinic who has experienced violence, providing information and referrals in addition to emotional support.
Savviest ACOs Leverage Health Plan Resources
More than ever before, physicians and health plans have compelling reasons to work together to achieve the Triple Aim, which means improving consumers’ health outcomes, their experience of care, and the costs associated with that care. In the years since the Affordable Care Act was enacted, value-based care models that more closely align providers and health plans with the shared goals of improving healthcare quality and cost have gained traction.
‘Customer Ownership’ at the Forefront in Alaska
Healthcare organizations strive to improve the quality of care for patients; however, finding methods to do this without increasing costs can be a challenge. Southcentral Foundation (SCF), a nonprofit healthcare organization in Alaska, has found engaging and partnering with patients on their healthcare journey can lead to better care and outcomes without incurring higher costs and actually decreases overall costs.
Digital Documentation: More or Less?
Remember the blue book? Starting as early as junior high school, teachers would hand out that pale blue 8” x 8” booklet, giving each student 50 minutes to handwrite everything they knew about a particular subject. Urban legend suggested teachers issued grades based on the number of pages filled rather than the contents of the illegible scribble. Because handwriting did not allow for cutting and pasting, there was no verbatim insertion of multiple Wikipedia pages to “enhance” a test-taker’s spontaneous brilliance. The essay length was determined by the knowledge of the student and the quickness of the pen.
Paralyzed by Mistakes: Reassess the Safety of Neuromuscular Blockers in Your Facility
Problem: Neuromuscular blocking agents are high-alert medications because of their well-documented history of causing catastrophic injuries or death when used in error. These drugs are used during tracheal intubation, during surgery of intubated patients, and to facilitate mechanical ventilation of critically ill patients.
Using a Screening Program to Improve Suicide Prevention
Suicides were the third most common sentinel event of 2015, with 95 reported cases in 2015’s Sentinel Event Statistics. The total number of patient suicides reported to The Joint Commission is now up to 1,184 since the start of the decade.
Editor’s Notebook: Introduction
I am honored to be the new editor of Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare. In this, my first letter to the readers, I would like to reassure you that our mission remains to provide “news, science, and research” to people in all areas of the patient safety movement—and, in fact, for everyone interested in improving … Continued
Continuity of Care Innovation is Closer Than You Think
Hospital administrators seeking solutions to continuity of care challenges but who don’t know where to begin, many not realize that innovative problem solvers are nearby–maybe in their own communities.
Perioperative Pressure Injuries: Protocols and Evidence-Based Programs for Reducing Risk
By Susan M. Scott, BSN, MSN, RN, WOC Over the past five years, the incidence of perioperative hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPI) has increased (Chen, Chen, & Wu, 2012), causing patients pain and suffering and costing the U.S. healthcare system $11 billion per year (Brem et al., 2010). Pressure injuries (previously referred to as pressure ulcers) … Continued
Self-Service Calculators for Price Transparency
By Jay Deady Healthcare price transparency is the challenge that just won’t go away, largely because proposed solutions to date leave much to be desired by patients and providers alike. Obviously, few hospitals are enthused about making their chargemaster lists public, and even if they were available, the prices on these lists don’t reflect what … Continued