Hospital Peer Review – March 1, 2009
March 1, 2009
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NPSG compliance problems hospitals face now; where do you stack up?
The Joint Commission has put a one-year moratorium on its National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs), as it reviews current goals with input from the field. One goal in particular, Goal 8 regarding medication reconciliation, will no longer be scored as part of the accreditation decision until a more refined goal is set forth in 2010. -
Study: Safety checklist reduces mortality
According to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine, "data suggest that at least half of all surgical complications are avoidable."1 The article goes on to say that teamwork in surgeries has been shown to lead to improved outcomes. -
Accreditation Field Report: Accountability, vigilance make this hospital grade A
Preparation for Joint Commission surveys and measuring performance improvement at St. Vincent's HealthCare in Jacksonville, FL, involves all staff. And it seems to be a method that works. The hospital was just recognized for the fifth consecutive year as a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence by HealthGrades. -
How MN's reporting laws have changed the state
Five years after implementing the Adverse Health Care Events Law, which requires hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers to report on 28 quality measures, the Minnesota Department of Health published a retrospective report: "Adverse Health Care Events Reporting System: What have we learned?" -
Care Initiation Area yields dramatic results
In February 2008, 12% of the patients who presented to the emergency department at Gaston Memorial Hospital in Gastonia, NC, left without being treated. By the end of January 2009, that figure had dropped to 1.3%. -
Kaizen methodology means rapid changes
While the Kaizen methodology, developed by Toyota, involves examining processes in minute detail, it ironically can lead to rapid improvement in ED processes, says Sonya Carver, RN, clinical manager/days for the ED at Gaston Memorial Hospital in Gastonia, NC. -
ED slashes average wait time by more than an hour
No emergency department cuts its average door-to-doc time from 93 minutes to 20 minutes by accident. The success story at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center in Houston was the result of discovering a patient flow model at another facility that was superior to theirs, and then continuing to search out additional models to come up with their own system that best addressed their specific needs. -
There is no 'I' in ED team care
Winning a malpractice case takes more than success in the courtroom: It also requires ongoing best practices on the part of the ED manager to educate and prepare the staff for possible lawsuits. -
News Briefs
A recent federal appeals court decision clarifies how far an investigation into "disruptive behavior" goes under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act.