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A study by the US Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) found that e-prescribing is safe and effective, but still faces many barriers to widespread use.
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In the 25 years since the Picker Institute was founded to focus on patient-centered care, the organization has specialized in talking about the positive part of healthcare the things that should always be done that benefit the patient and family rather than about those never events that make headlines.
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A RAND study released in December looked at the use of performance measures and the barriers to using them.
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In the first weeks after The Joint Commission and SGS Group announced they would be offering joint accreditation and ISO certification to interested hospitals, SGS reported a fourfold increase in calls from hospitals curious about what ISO could do for them.
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Many times it takes significant changes in processes and/or policies to effect improvements in quality performance.
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A report from the Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General released at the end of October concluded that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services isn't addressing some of the serious events that happen in hospitals or letting The Joint Commission know about them in a timely manner.
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They knew it was coming: The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) proposed budget didn't include any government funding for the Baldrige National Quality Awards. But it still comes as a shock, particularly to those who have participated in the program and know firsthand the benefits that participants reap.
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More hospital employees than ever are receiving the influenza vaccine. A national survey shows that by mid-November, about 78% of them had been vaccinated a rate that is almost double the rate of about five years ago.
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If you want to boost hand hygiene, the right sign can help. Health care workers are more likely to wash up out of concern for patient safety, researchers report.
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Just how clean are your pharmacies and oncology units of contamination from chemotherapy agents and other hazardous drugs? That has been a vexing question, but now several companies are offering testing.
