IHI Looks to Expand ‘Age-Friendly’ Health Systems
The initiative, Age-Friendly Health Systems, uses evidence-based framework called the 4Ms: what matters to older adults; medication that is age friendly; attending to mentation, including delirium, depression, and dementia; and mobility, so seniors can maintain function.
Medical Malpractice Rate Dropped Over 10-Year Period
When looking at the number of defendants per 100 physicians, the steepest decline was in OB-GYN claims with a 44% drop over 10 years. The drop is possibly attributable to focused safety efforts in labor & delivery over the last 15 years, but more research is needed.
Hospital Splits This Payroll Expense 50/50 With Local Payer to Curb ER Overuse
Rather than shouldering the full cost of employing a full-time ED social worker, the hospital partnered with local insurer South Country Health Alliance. They struck a deal and signed a contract agreeing to split the personnel expense 50/50, beginning in 2012.
Hospitals Need to Brace for Upward Trend in Malpractice Claims
Over the past two decades, the medical professional liability insurance marketplace has been hardening in response to higher paid claims. The evolving market is putting upward pressure on premiums and downward pressure on insurance industry capacity.
Report: Antibiotic Resistance More Prevalent in Device-Associated Infections
The report compiled data from more than 5,600 facilities from 2015 to 2017 and found that resistance was consistently higher for device-associated healthcare-acquired infections than for the same bacteria identified after surgical procedures. The devices studied were those used for a limited time in a hospital setting such as central lines, ventilators, and urinary catheters.
Q&A: The Impact of To Err is Human at 20
Since the report’s initial claim that as many as 98,000 people die annually from medical errors, there have been major strides in changing healthcare organization’s systemic problem, workplace cultures, and improvement processes.
Freestanding Emergency Departments Can Increase Patient Spending
The recent study, which was published in the journal Academic Emergency Medicine, examined freestanding emergency department data collected in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, and Texas from January 2013 to December 2017. The researchers focused on total spending on emergency care, out‐of‐pocket spending, utilization, and price per visit.
Workplace Violence Legislation Moves Forward
The bill, which passed by a 251-158 vote, ensures that healthcare and social service employers, including hospitals, take specific steps to prevent workplace violence and ensure the safety of patients and workers.
Indiana Hospital: Sterilization Issue Put 1,200 Patients at Risk of Infection
The hospital sent a letter to affected patients, announcing that one of the hospital’s seven surgical instrument sterilization technicians failed to complete one of the steps required in the sterilization process with certain instruments.
Four Initiatives of Patient Experience Success at UnityPoint Health
This year, West Des Moines, Iowa–based UnityPoint Health’s UnityPoint Clinic division achieved a top 10% ranking from Press Ganey Associates, a national leader in patient satisfaction surveys.