Nominations Open for Sherman Award for Excellence in Patient Engagement

EngagingPatients.org, an online community dedicated to sharing best practices in patient and family engagement, is now accepting nominations for the 2016 John Q. Sherman Award for Excellence in Patient Engagement. Established in 2014, the Sherman Award is dedicated to recognizing innovative work that has resulted in better, safer care and improved outcomes by engaging patients … Continued

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Olympus Recalls Duodenoscopes, FDA Approves New Model

Olympus Corp., the largest seller of duodenoscopes in the U.S., last week recalled all of its TJF-Q180V model scopes. The move came just one day after a Senate committee report linked Olympus products to 142 antibiotic-resistant infection (ARI) cases. Duodenoscopes are flexible cameras inserted into a patient’s mouth or digestive tract to diagnose a number … Continued

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FDA Releases Cybersecurity Recommendations for Medical Device Manufacturers

Cybersecurity threats to medical devices are a growing concern. The FDA took a proactive step last week and released draft guidance last week encouraging medical device manufacturers to address certain cybersecurity risks to keep patients safe. Manufacturers should look beyond the initial security measures implemented in a medical device and consider additional safety measures throughout … Continued

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C.diff Infection Raises Hospital Costs by 40% per Case

By Alexandra Pecci, for HealthLeaders Media

Treating Clostridium difficile adds about $7,285 in hospital costs per patient, not including readmissions, research finds.

It can be difficult to quantify the exact economic burden of C. diff on hospitals and the health system as a whole. But a recent study puts a dollar amount on the cost of C. diff, that number is not only big, but also likely underestimated.

Published in the November issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the study found that C. diff-associated diarrhea (CDAD) increases hospital costs by 40% per case and puts those infected at high risk for longer hospital stays and readmissions.

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FDA validates revised reprocessing instructions for Model ED-530XT duodenoscopes

FUJIFILM Medical Systems issued revised reprocessing instructions late last month for Model ED-530XT duodenoscopes, according to a safety communication issued by the FDA. The instructions require exacting pre-cleaning, manual cleaning, and high-level disinfection procedures. While these revised reprocessing instructions are for Model ED-530XT duodenoscopes, the FDA is encouraging healthcare facilities that use Fuji’s 250 and … Continued

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Nursing has once again been named the most trustworthy profession in America

Trust your nurses, everyone else does Nursing has once again been named the most trustworthy profession in America. In its annual Honesty and Ethics rankings, Gallup Polls found that 85% of Americans rated nurses’ honesty and trustworthiness “very high,” or “high.” The runner-up, pharmacists, only received a “highly trusted” score of 68%. As a manager, … Continued

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The Hidden Patient Experience

Alexandra  Wilson Pecci, for HealthLeaders Media How well-meaning and clinically important actions can make or break the patient experience, and how leaders at Cleveland Clinic and Mount Sinai Health System are refocusing efforts. During her hospital’s monthly executive leadership rounds, Cleveland Clinic’s executive chief nursing officer, K. Kelly Hancock, MSN, RN, NE-BC, met a patient … Continued

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Physical Therapy Joins the Movement

By Susan Carr

This year’s annual conference of the American Physical Therapy Association’s Massachusetts chapter (APTAMA) focused on a microcosm of issues in healthcare improvement: value, collaboration, measurement, and spread. After hearing Alan M. Jette, PT, PhD, FAPTA, deliver the keynote address, “System Thinking to Thrive in a Changing Health Care Environment,” I participated on a panel that included Jette in a discussion of the issues he raised.

Leaders in physical therapy are working hard to inspire practicing physical therapists (PT) to pursue improvement efforts within their profession, in healthcare more broadly, and with consumers directly. Leaders such as Jette and Mary Duffy Zupkus, PT, MPA, president of the APTAMA (and—full disclosure—my PT), believe that physical therapy offers unique opportunities to advance healthcare delivery and must reposition itself as a profession in order to survive the new demands of the healthcare marketplace. The enthusiasm and savvy of those who attended the conference, presented on the panel, and asked insightful questions were reminders that important stakeholders continue to join the improvement movement.

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