Healthcare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement Archives – November 1, 2010
November 1, 2010
View Issues
-
Hospital has unique marriage of research center and QI team
What hospital quality manager wouldn't want to have a renowned research center that investigates the leading issues in quality and safety based right within his or her own facility? Certainly not Jan Fitzgerald, MS, RN, CPHQ, director of quality and medical management at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA, which also is home of the Center for Quality of Care Research (CQCR). -
Facility dramatically reduces pressure ulcers
In 2008, the incidence of pressure ulcers in the ICU at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago ranged from 11% to 13.6%. Today, a multidisciplinary task force has dispelled the myth that little can be done to prevent pressure ulcers in the ICU. -
Disclose mistakes that affect multiple patients
A group of researchers from the University of Washington, Seattle, led by Denise M. Dudzinski, PhD, MTS, associate professor and director of graduate studies, has concluded that it is preferable to disclose medical mistakes affecting multiple patients even if those patients were not harmed. -
ED quality performance moves into public arena
HealthGrades, a Golden, CO-based health care ratings organization that provides the public with ratings on more than 750,000 physicians and 5,000 hospitals, has just released a study it claims "evaluates hospital emergency medicine for the first time." -
Managers paying attention to data
In light of the growing trend toward public reporting of performance, an increasing number of ED managers are seeking better ways to track their data, says Mark D. Crockett, MD, FACEP, president of the emergency care division at Picis, an information solutions provider based in Wakefield, MA, and an attending ED physician at Morris (IL) Hospital. -
Many EDs noncompliant with asthma guidelines
Many ED nurses are apparently not following guidelines for pulmonary function testing and asthma medications, according to a recent study. -
TJC suspends 'auto' adverse decision
The Joint Commission has suspended its policy that triggers an "automatic" adverse decision if an organization fails to complete an acceptable root-cause analysis in response to a sentinel event or its related measure of success within a specified time frame. -
Most experts predict higher ED volumes
The bad news: Most ED experts believe that health care reform will only exacerbate the steady growth of volume in the nation's EDs.