Medication Adherence: Technology’s Role in Improving Outcomes
A lack of prescription adherence has cost the U.S. more than $524 billion a year due to morbidity and mortality, according to the PAN Foundation. Organizations must look for ways to remove barriers to adherence to ensure patients can access the prescriptions they need, including through the utilization of technology platforms.
Survey: Health Systems See Technology as a Key to Improving Patient Access
The Top of Mind for Top Health Systems 2023 report, released this week by CCM, the innovation arm of UPMC, and KLAS Research, represents the thoughts of 61 leaders from 59 healthcare organizations, and marks the second year in a row that patient access is at the top of the to-do list. Some 28% of those surveyed for this year’s report rated it as the problem that has the greatest potential to be improved via digital health–and one that has been greatly impacted by the pandemic.
Presbyterian Healthcare Services CMO Talks Strategy, Patient Safety, and Workforce
Mitchell leads more than 1,100 physicians and advanced practice clinicians. He also provides clinical oversight for the Albuquerque, New Mexico—based health system’s medical staff operations at nine hospitals. HealthLeaders recently talked with him about a range of topics, including clinical leadership at PHS, healthcare worker burnout, patient safety at PHS, and workforce shortages.
Tackling Nursing’s Trifecta of Challenges
An aging and retiring nurse workforce, burnout from the pandemic, and a rapidly greying Baby Boomer population have created a trifecta of staffing challenges across the healthcare space, but one nurse leader has some suggestions.
Can Ready-to-Administer Syringes Improve Patient Care, Reduce Medical Errors, and Support a Greener Environment?
As a replacement for the error-prone bedside act of drawing up medication from a glass vial, RTA syringe technology provides a prefilled polymer syringe that has a color-coded plunger, is prelabeled, and boasts an impressive shelf life. The time savings in providing busy clinicians with equipment requiring no preparation is self-evident.
Researchers Link 266K Avertable Deaths to COVID Vaccination Rates
The rate of COVID mortality in the nation’s 10 least-vaccinated states – 145 per 100,000 population — was nearly double the COVID mortality rate of the 10 most-vaccinated states (74.5/100,000), according to the letter which was published Friday in JAMA Network.
Overcoming Patient Sitter Shortages Through Alternate Staffing Models
This is a common story for many patients who are either admitted to the hospital or have their hospital stay extended due to a preventable event. A proven solution is to use either in-person sitters or telesitter technology to provide 24-hour observation of patients at risk for harm events such as falls, wandering, elopements, or pulling out IV tubes.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 66 – Preventing Duplicate Patient Records
On episode 66 of PSQH: The Podcast, Gregg Church, president of 4medica, talks about how to prevent duplicate patient records.
MI Launches Fast-Track Nurse Apprentice Program
Stakeholders say the new program combines classroom instruction and practical experience with a nurse mentor for full-time apprentices at Corewell Health Ludington Hospital (formerly Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital) for a faster, less cumbersome path to RN licensure.
Alarm Raised Over Patient Boarding in Emergency Departments
Boarding in emergency departments occurs when there is a shortage of inpatient beds for hospital admissions or there are no beds at external facilities such as psychiatric hospitals. The Joint Commission recommends that emergency department boarding not exceed four hours; however, it has become common to have emergency department boarding for days or weeks, according to ACEP.