Hospitals Might Get Penalized by CMS for Serving Disadvantaged Patients
Researchers found that in an analysis of more than 3,600 hospitals across the country, those that provide care in neighborhoods with higher social risks achieved lower quality scores from CMS.
Battling alarm fatigue for improved patient care and safety
By: Jordan Rosenfeld Medical alarms are meant to alert medical staff when a patient’s condition requires immediate attention. Unfortunately, there are so many false alarms — they’re false as much as 72% to 99% percent of the time — that they lead to alarm fatigue in nurses and other healthcare professionals. One study found that … Continued
Complications Increase Vaginal Delivery Costs by 20%, Study Finds
The study highlighted the clinical and financial impact associated with potentially preventable health conditions that complicate the childbirth delivery process.
BD Launches Fully Sterile Surgical Skin Preparation
Skin antiseptic products are used to reduce bacterial burden on skin prior to performing invasive medical procedures, such as injections or surgical incisions. In this role, skin antiseptics, including alcohol, iodine, and chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG), are part of the frontline in infection control. [i],[ii],[iii],[iv],[v] As our understanding of factors leading to infection has evolved, so … Continued
Children’s Minnesota CFO on Investing in Virtual Care to Improve the Patient Experience
McCormick told HealthLeaders that her time at Smiths increased her focus on patient outcomes and excited her about the possibility of continuing that mission at Children’s Minnesota, a 414-staffed beds with $1.7 billion in total patient revenue last year, according to the American Hospital Directory.
IHI Pushes Safety as a Primary Business Strategy
Hospital leaders must adopt safety and quality as primary business strategies, rather than regarding them as tertiary metrics that rank below finances and other stressors on the C suite’s list of top priorities, according to Derek Feeley, president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
CMS Updates State Operations Manual
The updated Interpretive Guidelines for CMS surveyors includes most—but not all—of the new or revised Conditions of Participation for discharge planning and burden reduction outlined in two final rules published in September.
CMS Offers Training on New Electronic Form for Restraint-Related Deaths
CMS announced the new electronic form and provided instructions on how to use it, including a video, in a Quality, Safety & Oversight Group memo, on December 2.
Asymptomatic Carriers of C. Diff May Be Significant Source of Infection at Hospitals
Hospitals have focused on reducing transmission of C. diff from symptomatic patients. However, the new study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology found asymptomatic carriers of C. diff spores are at significant risk of progression to symptomatic C. diff infection.
Berwick Outlines 7-Step Campaign for the Quality Movement
Berwick urged healthcare providers to embrace his unabashedly progressive agenda that looks beyond their own immediate needs and margin pressures, and actively confronts the root causes of the vast social and moral issues that ultimately affect the health of humanity, such as a lack of access to food, shelter, healthcare, and hope.