January/February 2014 Quality Conundrums Lynn Helmer, MD, MBA, CHCQM • ABQAURP Diplomate since 1998 • http://www.drdnj.com Healthcare.gov — A Quality Conundrum? Regardless of your politics, we can all agree that leveraging technology in some way to enhance the quality and decrease the cost of health care is a logical approach. Although disagreement remains, recent … Continued

Falls are one of biggest safety concerns in critical care facilities. The varied population of a hospital unit at any time complicates the problem. Do you have the same protocols for adults, children, the elderly? Is the technical support that has been implemented adequate to handle all the differences?

Although the federal government has recently devoted tremendous resources to promoting health information technology (health IT), debate about certification, standards, and best practices for safe use continues. In early April, three federal agencies contributed a new report to the growing literature about how to ensure the safety of health IT and more questions to an already lively discussion.

The Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) Keystone Center is one of 26 organizations nationally selected as a Partnership for Patients (PfP) Hospital Engagement Network (HEN) to work with hospitals and healthcare providers to identify, share, and implement proven and reliable best-practices to reduce nine hospital-acquired conditions.

Good patient care isn’t just diagnosis and prescriptions; it also involves patient compliance.

A recent report from the National Patient Safety Foundation’s (NPSF) Lucian Leape Institute, Safety Is Personal: Partnering with Patients and Families for the Safest Care, advocates for patients and families to be active partners in all aspects of their care, as well as in healthcare design and delivery and in policy development and research efforts.

Information technology has achieved some amazing changes in consumer behavior. Over the last 20 years, companies have decreased their costs simply by transferring the work previously done by employees to consumers.

As the obesity epidemic continues and insulin resistance problems worsen, larger doses of insulin are more frequently required to meet glycemic goals. This has led to an increased use of U-500 insulin when dose requirements exceed 200 units per day.

Principles of patient- and family-centered care (PFCC) have been ingrained in American culture since the days when house calls were made by the fictional Marcus Welby, MD, and the real Dr. W. Mayo (Clapesattle, 1990). It would be unusual for a modern medical practitioner to argue against these principles, but gradually over time, the practical application of patient- and family-centered care in clinical settings faded.