What Do Rankings Mean for Patient Safety?
Just as it has every year for the last 26 years, U.S. News & World Report recently released its hospital rankings for 2016-2017. This year, the organization named Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, the best hospital in the country.
CMS Launches New Physician Engagement Initiative
On October 13, CMS announced a push to improve physician engagement and their experience within the Medicare system. To achieve this goal, the agency is trying to reduce the reduce administrative burdens that physicians have to handle with the new Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).
Hospitals Explore a New Approach to MRSA and VRE: Eliminating Contact Precautions
Amid mounting evidence that contact precautions may not be necessary to prevent the transmission of certain infections, experts are calling for hospitals to reconsider what has been a staple of infection prevention guidelines for decades.
3 Tips for Safer Patient Handling
Take time, educate patients, and use assistive technology to curb injuries, says a nurse honored for reducing workplace injuries.
Joint Commission Launches Healthcare Violence Resource Center
The Joint Commission this month launched a digital resource center aimed at reducing workplace violence in healthcare settings.
CMS Gives $347M to Improve Patient Safety
In the last week of September, CMS gave $347 million to 16 different hospital associations, Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO), and health system organizations to continue efforts in reducing Medicare readmission and hospital-acquired conditions.
Lessons Learned In the Fallout of Virginia Mason’s Accreditation Struggles
A preliminary denial offers a stark reminder that even top-rated hospitals are not immune to survey deficiencies.
FL Safety Initiative Saves $28.7M
In one year, Hospital Engagement Network programs that teach best practices and instill a culture of safety prevented at least 5,283 instances of patient harm in 77 hospitals across Florida.
Exploring Post-Discharge Spaces Designed to Eliminate Gaps in Care
At the end of a hospital stay, many patients find themselves overwhelmed by their experience as well as the often lengthy care directions they’ve been given. Others might find themselves pushed into another care place, one that may not have the resources or focus to holistically address their problems. Too often patients find themselves released from the hospital, only to wind up back in that hospital bed within the 30-day readmission window—a metric closely watched by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and hospitals everywhere.
Surveillance Monitoring: Current Challenges and Solutions
Failing to recognize early signs that a patient is deteriorating and respond with effective treatment—“failure to rescue”—has long been a challenge for hospitals, particularly among low-risk patients in low-acuity care delivery areas. Failure to rescue often affects postsurgical patients on opioids, though it is not limited to this narrow patient population. To reduce its occurrence, hospitals have primarily adopted rapid response teams.