New Orleans, March 31, 2011—Ochsner Health System today announced it is deploying Epic’s industry-leading electronic medical record (EMR) software, EpicCare, across its eight hospitals and 38 health centers.

Columbus, Ohio, March 21, 2011—An effort to improve quality and make Ohio the safest state in the nation for health care has garnered national attention.

Detroit, February 11, 2011—Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Care Network, and 22 trauma centers throughout the state, in partnership with the American College of Surgeons, are launching an initiative aimed at improving quality and safety of care provided in Michigan’s trauma centers.

By John Nelson

When the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched its Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) in 2007, the Heart Center of North Texas explored, but decided against, participating in the program. The effort of collecting and reporting quality measures was so complex and onerous that it was not worth the time or effort involved.

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 3, 2011—Taking on areas of healthcare that together account for billions of dollars in wasteful spending, the National Priorities Partnership (NPP) released sets of specific actions to reduce healthcare costs by addressing preventable hospital readmissions, reducing emergency department overuse, and preventing medication errors.

Fairfax, Virginia, January 26, 2011—The American Society for Radiation Oncology is continuing its commitment to Target Safely, a six-point patient protection plan developed in January 2010, to improve the safety and quality of radiation therapy treatments and reduce the chances of medical errors.