A 260-pound psychiatric patient charges his nurse and strikes her in the face as she prepares to take his blood pressure in the emergency department (ED).

I recently conducted a medication history for a patient who was seen in our clinic for rectal bleeding, weakness, and blurred vision. Mrs. J. is a pleasant woman in her mid-80s who was visiting to our cardiology practice for the first time.

We highlighted the importance of medical device interoperability for patient safety in an article in PSQH in January/February 2007.

These are truly troubled times. Perhaps we are seeing the most difficult challenges across our country and our world that any of us will ever see. These challenges are both professional and personal. They impact our good work, our personal aspirations, and what we hope for our families.

New entities created to help health providers reduce the incidence of patient safety events and maintain confidentiality about those events will gear up for action in 2009.

When asked, I say that PSQH is not peer reviewed, but that’s not entirely accurate. I’ve always looked to members of our Editorial Advisory Board for direction and, increasingly, for peer reviews of manuscripts submitted for publication.

How would you react if you learned that local pediatricians were steering patients away from your hospital’s emergency department and sending them to a competitor because they lacked confidence in the quality of care in your emergency department?

Broken or non-performing processes can’t be fixed with an overlay of technology. In fact, that approach only serves to magnify deficiencies, not correct them.

Developing a clinical data warehouse is a key first step toward improving quality reporting functionality, which supports the entire care enterprise.