Healthcare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement Archives – December 1, 2003
December 1, 2003
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Data interpretation hinges on the rationale for benchmarking project
Vast strides are being made in data collection methodology, and access to the same resources will help increase the commonality among benchmarking facilities. Nevertheless, benchmarking professionals argue, the practice of benchmarking is as much art as it is science, and interpreting data is as important as collecting them. -
Injuries in hospitals pose threat to patients
Medical injuries during hospitalization resulted in longer hospital stays, higher costs, and a higher number of deaths in 2000, according to a study from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in Rockville, MD. The study, Excess Length of Stay, Charges, and Mortality Attributable to Medical Injuries During Hospitalization, was published in the Oct. 8, 2003, Journal of the American Medical Association. -
SSM slashes LOS almost 2 days in just 2 weeks
Reducing patient length of stay (LOS) from nearly seven days to the regional average of 5.5 days usually takes two years, according to the Health Care Advisory Board in Washington, DC, a nationally recognized organization that provides best practices research and analysis to the health care industry. -
Patient flow product taps hidden capacity
Capacity limits and bed shortages lead to difficult decisions for hospital administrators, including whether to cancel surgeries, build new facilities, add staff, or continue to divert patients to other hospitals. -
Fundraising software bolsters efficiency
The RWJ University Hospital Foundation Inc. has improved the efficiency of its fundraising operations by switching to new software that allows more effective management of its donor database. -
News Brief: Hospital CAM services are on the rise
The proportion of hospitals offering complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) services increased by 0.8 percentage points in 2002, according to the 2003-2004 edition of the AHA Guide. About 16.5% of the 4,756 hospitals that answered the services questionnaire in the 2002 AHA Annual Survey of Hospitals said they provide CAM, up from 15.7% of 4,773 respondents in 2001.