Health IT & Quality: Why Things Matter
By Barry P. Chaiken, MD, MPH Compared to automobiles made just a few years ago, new ones provide an amazing driving experience. Expanding beyond the CD changer and iPod® dongle, automobiles now integrate our smartphones and use voice recognition technology, allowing drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel. In addition to this … Continued
Using Automated Surveillance to Improve Diagnosis
By Tom Scaletta, MD, CPPS Every day, healthcare becomes more complex, and with that complexity comes a growing need to focus on reducing diagnostic errors. A recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Improving Diagnosis in Healthcare (Balogh, Miller, & Ball, 2015), estimates that 5% of adults seeking outpatient care experience a diagnostic error, while one … Continued
CDC: 30% of Outpatient Antibiotics Are Prescribed Inappropriately
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that approximately 30% of antibiotic prescriptions written in the outpatient setting were inappropriate. Researchers found that several common conditions contributed to the majority of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. Forty-four percent of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions were written to treat acute respiratory conditions, sinus infections, … Continued
80% of ER Providers Hesitant to Ask Patients About Gender Sexual Orientation
For emergency medicine clinicians who learned to defer to patients’ privacy on sexual orientation and gender identification, asking questions is a major culture change.
Delay on Texting Ban Repeal
This spring, The Joint Commission reversed its ban on texting medical orders, citing critical improvements in the technology’s security. The accreditor has now announced it will delay the repeal until it can create additional guidance on appropriate texting policies, according to an article in the July issue of Joint Commission Perspectives. The Joint Commission and … Continued
MACRA Comment Period Ends With Burst of Feedback
Reaction to CMS’s proposed rule includes from MGMA that the proposal “provides almost no opportunities for medical groups to begin the shift away from fee-for-service reimbursement.”
Surgeon Ratings Websites Aim to Make A Mark On Patient Care
Two new ratings websites use risk adjustment models that offer a more complete picture of quality care.
ACS Releases New Standards for Overlapping and Conurrent Surgeries
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) released a much anticipated update to its “Statements on Principles” addressing both concurrent and overlapping surgeries. More than six months after a Spotlight Report from the Boston Globe into the concurrent surgeries at Massachusetts General Hospital, the ACS updates stipulate “a primary attending surgeon’s involvement in concurrent or simultaneous surgeries on … Continued
3 Ways a CNS Can Influence Quality of Care
This article first appeared on HealthLeaders Media, June 21, 2016. Physicians may balk at full-practice authority for APRNs, but medical doctors have more in common with Clinical Nurse Specialists than they realize. By: Jennifer Thew, RN When it comes to advanced practice nurses, what’s old is news again. In May, the Department of Veterans Affairs … Continued
CMS Proposes Making Antibiotic Stewardship Programs Mandatory
Last week, CMS published a list of proposed rule changes for hospitals and laboratories. One of the more notable proposals would make antibiotic stewardship programs (ASP) mandatory. ASPs are considered a way to prevent antibiotic misuse and the spread of drug-resistant disease.
“We propose to change the introductory paragraph (in Infection Control Condition of Participation §482.42) to require that a hospital’s infection prevention and control of antibiotic stewardship programs be active and hospital wide for the surveillance, prevention, and control of HAIs and other infectious diseases, and for the optimization of antibiotic use through stewardship,” according to the proposed rule.