Health & IT Quality: Watson, come here. I need you!

Health & IT Quality

Watson, come here. I need you!

Although a call for Watson brings to mind Alexander Graham Bell’s first words on the telephone or Sherlock Holmes’s greeting to his physician companion, The New York Times heralded another Watson on its February 17, 2011, front page.

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ISMP: Measuring Up to Medication Safety

ISMP

Measuring Up to Medication Safety

Medications are among the most common interventions used to improve health. So it should come as no surprise that adverse drug events—injuries caused by the use of medications—are a substantial source of preventable harm to hospitalized patients. Measuring the level of safety is fundamental to improvement.

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Corporate Compliance: Federal Initiatives to Drive Quality of Care: What Patient Safety Officers Need to Know

Corporate Compliance

Federal Initiatives to Drive Quality of Care: What Patient Safety Officers Need to Know

Under the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), every healthcare provider participating in Medicare or Medicaid must now have a corporate compliance program in place.  Medicare is seeking transparency, quality, and accountability from healthcare providers.

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Editor’s Notebook: On Being Wrong (and Human)

Editor’s Notebook

On Being Wrong (and Human)

I’ve developed a soft spot for error—not for the stubbornness and denial that too often accompany error, nor of course for the harm that can result from it. I’ve been charmed recently by people who are comfortable admitting error and who accept that being wrong is part of being human.

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