Conference News – Ready for the Challenge: IHI’s National Forum
by Susan Carr
Each December, I head to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) National Forum for a reliable dose of news, education, colleagues from around the world, and plenty of new ideas to keep things interesting.
Perioperative Technology Improves SCIP Measurements in a Community Hospital
Perioperative Technology Improves SCIP Measurements in a Community Hospital
One of the most highly regarded quality initiatives in the hospital operating room (OR) sphere is the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP), an ongoing program whose work was initiated in 2003 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is coordinated through a steering committee of 10 national organizations committed to improving surgical care quality and patient safety.
The Doctors Company Foundation Young Physicians Patient Safety Award
Dec. 1, 2011—In partnership with the Lucian Leape Institute at the National Patient Safety Foundation, The Doctors Company Foundation presents the Young Physicians Patient Safety Award—an award to recognize young physicians for their deep personal insight into the significance of patient safety work. Six winners will receive $5,000 + registration and travel expenses to the NPSF Annual Congress in May 2012. Application deadline is Feb. 9, 2012.
Three Healthcare Organizations Receive 2011 Baldrige Award
Nov. 22, 2011—U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson today named four organizations—three health care operations and one nonprofit business—as recipients of the 2011 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest Presidential honor for performance excellence through innovation, improvement and visionary leadership.
Pulse
Pulse
IOM Calls for Better Oversight, Accountability of Health Information Technology to Improve Patient Safety
To protect Americans from potential medical errors associated with the use of information technology in patient care, a new report by the Institute of Medicine calls for greater oversight by the public and private sectors.
Fall Prevention Showcase
Fall Prevention Showcase
What Goes Down—Shouldn’t
Between 2 and 15% of hospital patients in the United States experience falls. Nearly a third result in injuries and sometimes even death. Preventing falls in the acute environment is a constant battle against gravity and human behavior.
Patient Safety in Africa: A Culture Shift?
Patient Safety in Africa: A Culture Shift?
Patient safety has received increased attention in African countries in the last decade, yet little is known about African patient safety challenges and quality improvement opportunities.
Telluride Interdisciplinary Patient Safety Roundtable
Telluride Interdisciplinary Patient Safety Roundtable:
Medical Students’ Daily Narrative Reflections
As each new report of medical harm is published, the need to redesign medical education to prepare young physicians capable of approaching patient care in ways that decrease the opportunity for harm reaches a new level of urgency.
The Stories Behind the Data
The Stories Behind the Data
Narratives in event reporting database reveal opportunities for fall prevention.
Patient falls continue to be one of the leading causes of adverse events and patient harm in hospitals (Dykes et al., 2010). Injuries from falls can increase the length of hospital stay and increase hospital costs (Dykes et al., 2010; Krauss et al., 2007). As a result, fall reduction and prevention has become the focus for many national and international organizations (Szumlas et al., 2004).
Gray Market, Black Heart
ISMP
Gray Market, Black Heart
Pharmaceutical gray market finds a disturbing niche during the drug shortage crisis.
Widespread accounts of frustration, outrage, and serious compromises to patient care came across loud and clear from purchasing agents and pharmacists at 549 hospitals who participated in ISMP’s July-August survey (2011) on gray market activities associated with drug shortages.