National Quality Forum Endorses Two American College of Surgeons NSQIP Measures

Chicago—Two outcomes-based measures from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) were recently endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF). The two measures, surgical site infection (SSI) and urinary tract infection (UTI), were developed by ACS in partnership with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), as possible national outcomes measures that could be adopted by the governmental body as early as 2015.

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AHRQ Announces Free TeamSTEPPS Training Opportunities

AHRQ announces free training opportunities for TeamSTEPPS (Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety), a set of evidence-based, practical tools that helps hospitals and other health care providers strengthen teamwork among caregivers with the goal of improving patient safety. AHRQ and the Department of Defense designed the TeamSTEPPS program specifically for health care providers for use in a variety of care settings.

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Barcoding

Barcoding Barcoding Industry/Product News Cardinal Health Launches Innovative Barcode Administration to Help Hospitals Bridge Medication Safety GapsHospira has acquired Sculptor Developmental Technologies, a subsidiary of St. Clair Health Corporation Angel Medical Center today announced its rapid and successful conversion to B. Braun Medical Inc.’s innovative Outlook® 300 Safety Infusion System Hospitals now have a cost-effective … Continued

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New Organization Offers Patient Safety Certification

The Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety (CBPPS) has announced the official launch date for the highly-anticipated Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) exam. This credentialing process is designed to establish patient safety competency standards and elevate the professional stature of healthcare professionals who meet knowledge requirements in safety science, human factors engineering, and the practice of safe care.

In recognition of the advancement of patient safety as an acknowledged and critical discipline across the care continuum,  testing for the CPPS credential will be made available as Patient Safety Awareness Week kicks off globally on March 5, 2012.

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Health IT rEsources

HIMSS12 — the 2012 edition of the biggest gathering of people interested in health information technology (HIT) — is less than a month away. Although often thought of as the bastion of HIT corporations, HIMSS has become an active proponent of social media and efforts to include patients and consumers in HIT. The annual HIMSS conference is one of the best resources for information and opportunities to “meetup” with leaders in social media and networking. In preparation for this year’s event (Feb. 20 to 24 in Las Vegas), I offer links to some HIMSS sessions and other resources for information about social media in healthcare:

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Emergency Ultrasound at the Bedside: Not Just FAST

Emergency Ultrasound at the Bedside: Not Just FAST

A Cost-Effective Technology to Reduce Medical Errors and Improve Safety

For critically injured trauma patients, “there is a golden hour between life and death,” observed R. Adams Cowley, MD, who pioneered the United States’ first statewide Emergency Medicine Service, in Maryland, in 1973. Also the founder of the nation’s first shock trauma center, Cowley is widely credited with being the first physician to recognize the supreme importance of combining skill, speed, and use of state-of-the-art medical technology to diagnose and initiate treatment of trauma patients during the first 60 minutes after an injury. His “golden hour” paradigm has revolutionized emergency care worldwide by highlighting the ideal strategy to optimize trauma patients’ survival (University of Maryland).

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