Healthcare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement Archives – July 1, 2011
July 1, 2011
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Partnership for Patients: 'It's about time,' say quality experts
Hot on the heels of the release of its proposed rule to govern the operation of Accountable Care Organizations, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has unveiled its Partnership for Patients, a program whose main goals include the reduction of preventable harm in hospitals in the U.S. by 40% by 2013, and a reduction of hospital readmissions by 20% by the same deadline date. -
"Critical conversations" important in care process
While interventions such as "time-outs" have gained support as important safety tools during procedures, not nearly as much attention has been paid to similar interventions where procedures are not involved. -
Using behavior, not vital signs, to assess pain
How is your pain today? On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain? Are you comfortable today? Did the medication lessen your pain? All of these questions are typical methods for physicians and nurses to assess the effectiveness of pain control methods. -
Staff-driven effort cuts door-to-doc time
Sumner Regional Medical Center in Gallatin, TN, offers good evidence that quick turnarounds are indeed possible when you have motivated staff. Within just four months, Sumner went from the 5th percentile to the 98th percentile, according to patient reviews of their experience in the ED. -
New standards address patient communications
In July 2011, Joint Commission (JC) surveyors will begin holding hospitals accountable for some of the elements of performance (EP) contained in new patient-centered communication standards that were first unveiled last summer. -
Program guides seniors through EOL process
Seniors covered by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee's Medicare Advantage plan are guided through the end-of-life (EOL) processes and are being empowered with the education, resources, and assistance they need to make their own decisions about what kind of care they want to receive at the end of life. -
Advocating means being a good steward
Being an advocate for your patients is more than just trying to get them every treatment available.