2013 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award Recipients Announced
The National Quality Forum (NQF) and The Joint Commission have announced the 2013 recipients of the annual John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards. The four awards will be presented on February 13, 2014, during a luncheon at the 2014 NQF Annual Conference and Membership Meeting in Washington, D.C.
New Tool Shows Promise in Helping Surgical Teams Predict Home Discharge for Their Patients
Frequently predicted surgical outcomes primarily focus on adverse outcomes such as complications and death, but most patients also want to know about good outcomes, including whether they will return home after a surgical procedure, or, conversely, if they will need to prepare for a lengthy rehabilitation process at a care facility. Now, research published in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that a new type of surgical risk calculator can accurately predict postoperative home discharge.
Excel Medical Electronics Introduces AlarmNavigator™ to Address Alarm Fatigue
Excel Medical Electronics (EME), developers of the BedMasterEx data acquisition and reporting system, has introduced an AlarmNavigator product for supporting hospitals in their efforts to comply with The Joint Commission’s 2014 National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) on alarm safety.
System Monitors Patient Movement, Improves Reliability of Routine Patient Care Tasks, and Reduces Incidence of Pressure Ulcers
Quality healthcare delivery has never been more achievable. Our knowledge of human physiology and diagnosing and treating disease is comprehensive. The armamentarium of diagnostic tools, therapeutic modalities and patient monitoring capabilities is considerable. So why do adverse and sentinel events continue to plague healthcare delivery?
New York Metro-North Train Crash Offers an Opportunity
The deadly train derailment that occurred on Dec. 1, 2013, north of New York City apparently offers another example of an industry—or at least one heavily traveled commuter line—that is ripe to learn the lessons of safety science. With Dr. Lucian Leape’s discovery 25 years ago of the science of human error, healthcare began to assimilate knowledge from other disciplines and to improve safety by addressing the underlying, latent causes of error and harm. It appears that railroads would benefit from the same.
N.J. Hospitals Improve Quality, Reduce Costs, Shorten Wait Times in ‘Patient Flow’ Partnership
Reduced wait times and shorter hospital stays for patients. Reduced operating costs and increased revenues for hospitals. Those are among the results of a 15-month collaborative effort by New Jersey hospitals and the Boston-based Institute for Healthcare Optimization.
Minnesota Hospitals Chosen to Further Expand Patient Safety and Quality Efforts
The Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) Hospital Engagement Network (HEN) has been awarded $4.5 million from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to further expand its work to enhance patient safety. The award was effective Sept. 26, 2013.
Reality Check: The Beryl Institute Revisits the State of the Patient Experience
The Beryl Institute has published a major study of work being done in U.S. hospitals to improve the patient experience. Beryl performed a similar study in 2011, and compares the results from the earlier study to this year’s survey in The State of Patient Experience in American Hospitals 2013: Positive Trends and Opportunities for the Future.
Accountability of Care is the Center of Healthy Reform
Healthcare reform is taking center stage as the industry opens its eyes to a myriad of factors that are re-defining the healthcare landscape. There is an increased focus on patient-centric services and satisfaction that translate beyond the delivery of quality care to also enable the provision of affordable and timely care to achieve better health outcomes. The entire industry is undergoing a transformation triggered by the need to establish accountable care practices to help overcome specific issues that impede the industry’s improvement.
Prevention of Needlestick Injuries Can Save U.S Healthcare System More than $1 Billion a Year
Needlestick and sharps injuries affect more than half a million healthcare personnel every year, creating over $1 billion in preventable healthcare costs every year and an immeasurable emotional toll on millions of healthcare personnel, according to a Safe in Common review of U.S. healthcare industry statistics.