IHI Releases Framework for Board Governance of Health System Quality
The framework and tool are designed to help the approximately 80,000 health system trustees in the U.S. navigate the complex world of overseeing quality.
Joint Commission Revises Suicide Prevention National Patient Safety Goal
The revised requirements are based on more than a year of research, public field review, and analysis with multiple panels convened by TJC and representing provider organizations, suicide prevention experts, behavioral facility design experts, and other key stakeholders.
Brace Yourself, Winter is Coming
Most areas, and hospital facilities, are ready for the typical snowstorm. But are you ready for a truly bad snowstorm that can leave a region crippled for days, or even weeks at a time?
The Leapfrog Group Names 2018 Top Hospitals
Of the 118 Top Hospitals recognized in 23 states and the District of Columbia, 13 were children’s hospitals, 35 were general hospitals, 53 were teaching hospitals and 17 were rural hospitals.
A Novel Approach to Hospital Efficiency
While recognizing the value of many traditional utilization management processes, including labor productivity, staffing ratios, bed type assignments, throughput initiatives, and supply chain management, the team’s goal was to find new opportunities for improved resource management in bedside care delivery.
Call to Action: Long-Standing Strategies to Prevent Accidental Daily Methotrexate Dosing Must Be Implemented
Relatively few medications are dosed weekly; thus, accidental daily dosing of oral methotrexate has occurred all too frequently. This type of wrong-frequency error has originated in all stages of the medication use process, from prescribing to self-administration.
Guided Reflection: A Strategy to Reduce Patient Falls and Fall-Related Injuries
Our center, the 206-bed Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, was still experiencing falls despite having a comprehensive fall prevention program in place. Prior to implementing the AHRQ (2013) fall prevention toolkit the same year of the toolkit’s release, we recorded 160 patient falls. After our nursing division implemented the toolkit, we recorded 143 patient falls.
Could Legally Mandated Racial Bias Training Reduce Maternal Mortality Rates for Black Women?
A 2016 analysis of data published in Obstetrics & Gynecology showed a dramatic worsening in U.S. maternal mortality rates, increasing from 18.8 per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 23.8 in 2014. The researchers pointed out that this increase of nearly 27% took place in the United States while global rates fell by a third around that same time period. The data becomes even more pronounced when examining maternal mortality rates for black women.
Report Finds Radiologists to Blame for Missed Diagnoses
The Red Signal Radiology Report reviews five years of Coverys’ closed claims to identify major risk factors, illuminate warning signals and safety vulnerabilities within radiology practices, and provide evidence-based recommendations to help radiologists proactively avoid patient harm.
A Health IT Soothsayer
With 2019 on the horizon, it makes sense to offer up some health IT (HIT) predictions. What’s the harm? If I am correct, the HIT community will praise my ability to critically think and predict the future. If I am miserably wrong, no one will care. So here goes.