Healthcare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement Archives – April 1, 2009
April 1, 2009
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CMS demonstration project offers potential new collaboration model
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) may be giving hospital quality managers and other leaders a glimpse of the future with its new Acute Care Episode (ACE) demonstration, which it "expects to demonstrate how to better coordinate inpatient care and achieve savings in the delivery of that care that can ultimately be shared between hospitals, physicians, beneficiaries, and Medicare," according to CMS acting administrator Kerry Weems. CMS has just revealed the site selections for the initiative, which was slated to launch in March 2009. -
Kentucky hospital saves close to 400 lives
Sometimes large numbers don't hit home as much as smaller ones. When the Institute for Healthcare Improvement launched its "5 Million Lives" campaign, the concept of saving five million lives was almost too large to get one's mind around. -
Telemedicine improves care in child sexual assaults
Telemedicine has long been known to assist rural facilities in delivering more expert care in a number of specialties, but sexual assault examinations have not typically been among them. However, a new study in the journal Pediatrics shows that it can have dramatic results. -
Does your documentation program stop short?
If your documentation assurance program focuses on reimbursement alone, you're not going far enough. -
Community network eases transition of care
After Summa Health System began a series of initiatives to provide a seamless transition as patients move between levels of care, the rate of hospital readmissions within 31 days dropped from 26% to 24%. -
Use guidelines to improve pharmacy's performance
Hospital pharmacies continually search for ways to improve quality, safety, and develop best practices. But they might not be going about this as efficiently and effectively as they can. -
Discharge unit helps speed patient flow
ED managers agree that overcrowding and gridlock, while often manifested most graphically in their department, are decidedly hospitalwide issues, and the experience of Sarasota (FL) Memorial Hospital seems to prove their point.