15th Annual Cheers Awards Recipients Announced

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) recently announced its 15th Annual Cheers Awards winners. The Cheers Awards honor individuals, organizations, and companies that have set a standard of excellence for others to follow in the prevention of medication errors and adverse drug events.

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Never Mind Cutting Medicare, It’s Time to Take a Closer Look at Wasteful Spending Areas in Healthcare

Despite Medicare being a target in common for both Democrats and Republicans during the past elections, there are many bigger problems plaguing our healthcare system. Now, in order to bring healthcare inefficiencies in check amid the specter of a Fiscal Cliff in January, it is going to be incumbent on Washington politicians and healthcare executives to tackle these larger issues, such as unneeded care, a glut of paperwork and other waste. To say that all of these are costing us dearly is an understatement.

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Radiology – Peer Review: Why Current Models Undermine Safety Culture

The field of radiology is known for its rapid innovations in technology. We continually offer up exciting new ways to image the body, but when it comes to improving the accuracy of professional interpretations, little meaningful progress has been made in the last 50 years. This is true in part because current radiology peer review models are insufficient, and in some circumstances, even harmful to quality improvement efforts.

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Preventing Wrong-Site Surgery in Minnesota: A 5-Year Journey

Preventing Wrong-Site Surgery in Minnesota: A 5-Year Journey

While rare, surgeries and invasive procedures on the wrong body part (wrong-site procedures) are proving to be one of the most intractable patient safety issues. Despite years of effort at the state, national, and individual facility levels, these preventable events continue to occur.

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Better Care for Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: A Three-Part Approach

Better Care for Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: A Three-Part Approach

Some 2.6 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, a leading cause of hospitalization in the United States. Each year, 300,000 new cases of this form of cardiac arrhythmia are diagnosed, often due to the chest pain, palpitations, syncope, and exacerbation of heart failure associated with the condition. It is a condition that requires careful management: atrial fibrillation causes 20% of all strokes, and these are more likely to be the most severe, life-altering strokes.

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