Complex Healthcare Systems Present Opportunities for Optimization
In a healthcare setting, processes may be interdependent and overlap in various areas of responsibility, potentially impacting patient experience and outcome. Process management, especially for clinical approaches, is typically articulated in a set of repeatable algorithms, or protocols. In a hospital setting, for example, the ED and ICU teams may be involved in the same patient care continuum but have very different roles and responsibilities.
New Chief Physician Executive Shares Keys to Leadership Success
Jeff Ciaramita, MD, was promoted to senior vice president and chief physician executive of Mercy Clinic in October. Mercy Clinic is a large medical group with more than 4,000 providers. The Mercy health system is based in Chesterfield, Missouri, and operates more than 40 hospitals in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
The Patient’s Journey Through the Health System
The patient experience integrates the sum of all interactions of patients, families, and care partners with the healthcare workforce, driven by cultures that support a healthcare ecosystem across the care continuum within communities. This experience extends to all health organizations, whether primary care, hospital, private, or public organizations.
Four Lessons Learned From UW Health’s Virtual Care Rollout
As most health systems found out in the early days of the pandemic, scaling up virtual services was both critical and challenging. For UW Health, this process began with the need to rapidly boost the care team’s ability to work from home, providing virtual consultations and attending virtual rounds that would conserve PPE and reduce contact between team members and patients.
Artificial Intelligence Ushers New Era in Fetal, Maternal Safety in L&D
The use of technology in healthcare has seen exponential growth. Artificial intelligence—in particular, machine learning—is gaining prominence throughout medicine, and is now being applied to enhance fetal and maternal safety in L&D.
Huddles, Handoffs, and Heedfulness are Key to Preventing Harm to Patients
Englewood (Florida) Community Hospital has received 18 consecutive “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, a national distinction recognizing achievements protecting patients from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. Leapfrog is an industry standard for safety, quality of care, and patient experience, particularly for insurance agencies that check grades before recommending facilities to their clientele. Englewood is one of only 41 “Straight A” hospitals to be awarded an “A” in every grading cycle since 2012.
OSHA Cites Nursing Facility Under COVID-19 ETS
The agency’s June 21 COVID-19 ETS only applies to healthcare facilities and healthcare support services where employees may be exposed to COVID-19. Under the ETS, healthcare facilities must conduct a hazard assessment and develop a written plan to mitigate virus spread through methods such as erecting barriers and implementing control measures to maintain 6 feet of distancing between employees at entry points and nursing stations, as well as control staff and patient access to quarantine zones.
ATA Seeks Telehealth PHE Measures ‘At Least Through 2022’
In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, American Telemedicine Association CEO Ann Mond Johnson said the PHE created “flexibilities that have allowed clinicians across the country to provide all Americans high-quality virtual care at a time of great need.”
How One Chief Nurse Executive Builds Strong Nurse Leaders
Because good leadership is key in retaining nurses, Leanne Salazar is taking the culture of nursing excellence she built as chief nursing officer for nearly seven years at HCA’s Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville, Fla., before becoming CNE in early 2020, and expanding it throughout the division’s 15 acute care hospitals.
Three Characteristics of a Good Clinical Decision Support Tool
A good clinical decision support tool has three primary characteristics, says Jon Michael Vore, DO, chief medical information officer Southern New Hampshire Health. The Nashua, New Hampshire-based health system features a medical center and a network of more than 400 clinicians.