Quality Improvement Educational Initiative Proves to be a Model Program for Surgical Residents
Researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, have developed a novel graduate medical education initiative that enables surgical residents to hone their skills in quality improvement (QI). Surgical trainees who completed the year-long educational program found the QI training to be beneficial, and more importantly, believe it put them in a position to lead QI initiatives in the future. The report appears in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
The Beryl Institute and Inspiration NW Introduce Patient Experience Care Cards
The Beryl Institute announced a partnership with Inspiration NW, founder of Patient Experience Care Cards, to expand usage and awareness of the tool in the healthcare industry. Care Cards impact the patient experience by helping staff foster more meaningful conversations with patients.
Disposable Blood Pressure Cuffs Introduced from SunTech Medical
SunTech Medical displayed its complete line of blood pressure cuffs at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology exhibition.
Alere Analytics Launches Hospital Clinical Surveillance Solution for Infection Control and Medication Management
Alere Analytics, an Alere subsidiary specializing in analytics and clinical decision support (CDS) technology, has launched its Clinical Surveillance product for hospitals, which is an automated technology solution designed to manage antimicrobial stewardship, infection control and medication management.
CareFusion Introduces Ergonomic Surgical Clippers
CareFusion Corp., a leading, global medical technology company, has introduced the next generation of the company’s industry-leading line of surgical clippers. The new clippers, developed in conjunction with clinicians who use these types of devices every day, dramatically improve ergonomic feel and performance, encourage proper hand position and application, and can be used in wet or dry conditions.
Ochsner Baton Rouge Boosts Patient Safety with Expanded Use of Capnography
Ochsner Medical Center –Baton Rouge recently expanded its use of capnography to monitor patients using pain medication through patient controlled analgesia (PCA) to strengthen patient safety measures. Capnography evaluates how effectively patients are breathing by measuring exhaled carbon dioxide, alerting medical caregivers when life-threatening respiratory depression occurs.
The Transformation of Healthcare
Our approach to health is undergoing a transformation, with profound implications for the role of the patient, the practice and business of medicine, and for many of the efforts we’ve come to think of as patient safety projects. The impulses feeding this transformation come largely from the public—consumers, politicians, government agencies, nonprofit organizations—not so much from providers and traditional medical institutions. This transformation is consistent with a broad-based consumerism movement, driven in part by access to information and technology.
Video Monitoring System Measures Hand-washing Compliance
The North Shore-LIJ Health System is expanding a first-of-its-kind video monitoring system used to measure hand-washing compliance at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY, by introducing cameras in operating rooms at Forest Hills (NY) Hospital.
More Denominators
In the last issue of PSQH, I wrote about different takes on the concept of numerators and denominators. Kerry O’Connell leaves the comfortable world of uneventful patients (denominators) when he experiences preventable harm and joins the numerators. National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari, on the other hand, thinks of denominators as patients whose individual characteristics—including chronic and underlying conditions in need of treatment—may be invisible until brought to light through electronic records and analytics.
GOJO Announces Launch of SMARTLINK™ Hand Hygiene Solutions
GOJO Industries, a leader in hand hygiene and skin health and inventors of PURELL® Hand Sanitizer, is assisting Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (TSRHC) in measuring and improving hand hygiene compliance through its SMARTLINK Activity Monitoring System.