Quality & Patient Safety

Quality & Patient Safety Articles by Topic: Quality Improvement

Patient safety training and education programs offer range of opportunities

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 12, December 1, 2009

    In recent years, several fellowships and education programs have been introduced to the field. Many...

Briefings on Patient Safety, December 2009

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 12, December 1, 2009

    This issues has articles concerning the 2010 National Patient Safety Goals, options for patient...

Press Ganey report: Patient satisfaction increasing across the country

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 46, November 18, 2009

    Patient satisfaction is on the rise, according to Press Ganey's annual Hospital Pulse Report. The...

National Quality Forum creates standardized set of data for electronic health records

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 46, November 18, 2009

    The National Quality Forum (NQF), under a contract from the Agency for Healthcare Research and...

Introducing Patient Safety Monitor!

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 46, November 18, 2009

    HCPro is proud to announce its latest patient safety product: Patient Safety Monitor.

Survey: Patients think healthcare is better if they are told about errors

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 45, November 11, 2009

    A study published in the November 9 Archives of Internal Medicine reveals that hospital staff...

Diagnosis errors: No easy fix

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 45, November 11, 2009

    Physicians are responsible for one of the most complicated and important decisions in...

EMR data also being used to improve quality, reduce costs

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 43, October 28, 2009

    As more facilities switch to electronic medical records (EMR), many are finding an unanticipated...

Should physicians be required to take cultural competency courses?

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 42, October 21, 2009

    It's widely reported that racial and ethnic minorities receive less comprehensive healthcare than...

Study: Large variance in quality at U.S. hospitals

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 41, October 14, 2009

    The Twelfth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study shows that a large gap exists...

PQO model takes on a successful new look

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 10, October 1, 2009

    Quality improvement is something that UMass Memorial Medical Center (UMMMC) in Worcester, MA, has...

Universal patient floor increases patient flow, decreases handoffs, improves patient safety

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 10, October 1, 2009

    In 2007, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles rolled out a “universal floor&rdquo...

Patient advisory boards engage patients in their own care

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 10, October 1, 2009

    In today’s culture, many hospitals are increasing their focus on patient-centered...

Briefings on Patient Safety, October 2009

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 10, October 1, 2009

    This issues provides articles about building successful patient advisory boards, how a universal...

Oncology groups release standards for safe administration of chemotherapy

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 39, September 30, 2009

    On September 28, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Oncology Nursing...

New York health system offers physicians large incentive to make patient records digital

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 39, September 30, 2009

    New York's North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System announced recently that it will pay each of...

NQF endorses set of measures to improve medication safety

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 38, September 23, 2009

    The National Quality Forum (NQF) has endorsed a set of 18 measures to better manage...

Winners of the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award announced

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 38, September 23, 2009

    The Joint Commission and National Quality Forum announced the 2009 winners of the John M. Eisenberg...

More facilities looking to telehealth for improving care

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 37, September 16, 2009

    Once a novelty that few hospitals utilized, telemedicine is now becoming more common, reports...

IHI launches Improvement Map Online Tool

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 37, September 16, 2009

    The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) has launched the online component of its Improvement...

Improving efficiency, reducing waste are keys to safe, quality patient care

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 35, September 2, 2009

    The healthcare industry has maintained for years that it is unlike others simply because caring for...

JAMA commentary: Patient safety priority list would help improve outcomes

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 35, September 2, 2009

    A recent commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association calls for a list of patient...

Quality measurement, monitoring, and analysis

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 9, September 1, 2009

    Developing the right metrics—valid, reliable, feasible, meaningful, and...

Briefings on Patient Safety, September 2009

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 9, September 1, 2009

    This issue contains stories that discuss a new consumer reporting system developed by the Agency...

AHRQ says that more patients are leaving against medical advice

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 34, August 26, 2009

    More news from the AHRQ- this time, however, patients may be acting as a threat to themselves. An...

NYTimes op-ed discusses how to lower costs, increase quality in American healthcare

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 33, August 19, 2009

    To boost quality and lower healthcare costs, it's not necessary for the American healthcare system...

New bills, initiatives push for greater patient involvement in care

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 31, August 5, 2009

    Today's patients want to have a greater involvement in their care. To that end, both the federal...

Link between patient satisfaction, intensity of care discussed

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 31, August 5, 2009

    Patients wanting to compare hospitals have a new outlet to do so: the same place where one might go...

Medication safety: A complex puzzle

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 8, August 1, 2009

    The National Quality Forum (NQF) included modifications to the medication management chapter in its...

Group develops checklists to promote patient safety

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 8, August 1, 2009

    Ensuring patient safety and education are two of the most important tasks staff members in...

Illustrating the cost of poor quality

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 8, August 1, 2009

    As more hospital budgets are cut, it’s important for staff members who work in quality and...

Reducing rehospitalizations proves to be difficult and costly

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 30, July 29, 2009

    Reducing rehospitalizations has become a national focus as health reform plays out. Readmissions...

Patient safety-related cost savings not always easy to calculate

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 29, July 22, 2009

    As hospitals face deeper payment cuts from the federal government, many are considering new methods...

Illinois’ hospital data to be made public after delay

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 29, July 22, 2009

    Performance data from Illinois hospitals will be posted on a public Web site this coming fall...

American Hospital Association, McKesson award three hospitals Quest for Quality Prize

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 29, July 22, 2009

    The American Hospital Association and McKesson awarded its Quest for Quality Prize to Bronson...

Hospital Compare Web site posts new quality data

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 28, July 15, 2009

    The Hospital Quality Alliance announced last week the addition of new data available on the CMS...

Keeping the hospital’s smallest patients safe

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 7, July 1, 2009

    For babies born prematurely, even the noise generated from a normal conversation can be too loud...

More doctors going digital for patient visits

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 26, July 1, 2009

    A larger number of physicians are offering patients the option to be treated online, reports The...

Washington DC-area hospital targets CHF patients as starting point for preventing readmissions

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 26, July 1, 2009

    Inova Mount Vernon Hospital in Alexandria, VA, has launched a program titled HeartLink to empower...

AMA adopts policy that makes quality care part of physicians’ ethical responsibilities

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 26, July 1, 2009

    Delegates at the American Medical Association's annual meeting recently approved a policy that...

New infection control product monitors hand hygiene

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 24, June 17, 2009

    Performing hand hygiene adequately and often is something that many healthcare facilities are...

AHA disappointed with proposed hospital budget cuts

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 24, June 17, 2009

    On June 13, 2009, President Barack Obama called for an additional $220 billion cut to hospital...

Patients waiting longer to see primary care physicians, specialists

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 23, June 10, 2009

    A new study done by Meritt Hawkins and Associates shows that wait times are growing rapidly for...

Major U.S. healthcare groups specify how they will try to save $2 trillion annually

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 22, June 3, 2009

    Last month, a group of major healthcare players came together to take on the Obama administration's...

Proposed bill advocates for more visas for foreign nurses, stronger domestic nursing education

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 21, May 27, 2009

    A new proposed bill aims to lessen the effects of a nursing shortage, reports AHA News

Joint Commission announces field review

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 20, May 20, 2009

    The Joint Commission has asked the field to review and comment on revisions to the 2009 National...

Pilot project to track adverse events related to blood transfusions

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 19, May 13, 2009

    Nine hospitals began taking part in a pilot program last week to track and analyze adverse events...

Uniforms by color: Can they aid in caregiver identification?

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 19, May 13, 2009

    some hospitals are turning to color-coded uniforms, most often scrubs, for each different type of...

Storytelling in healthcare enhances experience for patients and providers

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 5, May 1, 2009

    When someone becomes sick or injured and visits a doctor’s office, hospital, or other...

Survey: Most hospitals make culture of safety a priority

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 5, May 1, 2009

    Creating a culture of safety has become a buzz phrase in patient safety during the past few years...

Briefings on Patient Safety May 2009

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 5, May 1, 2009

    This issue covers how HCAHPS has changed for 2009 and how facilities can boost their HCAHPS scores...

CMS clarifies oversight of HCAHPS in 2009, releases updated scores

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 5, May 1, 2009

    CMS released its fifth quarterly update of patient satisfaction data March 26, one year after the...

Urgent care centers prove their worth in wake of long ER lines

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 17, April 29, 2009

    Lengthy wait times at emergency rooms (ER) around the country have given way to "urgent care...

University group attempts to redesign hospital gown

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 16, April 22, 2009

    Researchers at North Carolina State University are embarking on redesigning the typical hospital...

Consumer group says fewer disruptive physicians disciplined

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 16, April 22, 2009

    A new report from Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, says that fewer "bad"...

CMS announces pilot project to reduce preventable rehospitalizations

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 15, April 15, 2009

    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced it will soon be launching a...

Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to partner on EHR

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 15, April 15, 2009

    President Obama announced last week that the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of...

HealthGrades releases sixth annual patient safety study results

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 14, April 8, 2009

    The sixth annual HealthGrades Patient Safety in American Hospitals Study was released on April 7...

Proposed patient safety group looks to aviation model to improve processes

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 14, April 8, 2009

    A paper published in the most recent issue of Health Affairshighlights some of the areas in which...

Use simulation training to boost culture of safety

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 4, April 1, 2009

    Many hospitals and medical schools offer some variation of simulation-based training in which...

IHI's Surgical Checklist "Sprint" ends April 1

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 13, April 1, 2009

    Announced at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's (IHI) National Forum in December 2008, the...

One health system reduces death and readmission rates associated with heart surgery

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 13, April 1, 2009

    Geisinger Health System in Danville, PA, has bucked the trend and guaranteed patients who undergo...

NYC hospitals faulted for inadequately reporting near misses and adverse events

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 10, March 11, 2009

    A recent report by the New York City (NYC) comptroller found that hospitals in NYC report...

Press Ganey releases culture of safety report; finds assessing blame for errors is often why errors occur

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 10, March 11, 2009

    Press Ganey, a consulting firm that works with 40% of the nation's hospitals to help improve...

Study: Bond between patients and doctors can lead to better patient care

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 9, March 4, 2009

    Those patients who have a stronger relationship with their doctors were more likely to receive...

CMS to conduct a "dry run" of nine patient safety and quality indicators

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 9, March 4, 2009

    Hospitals that participate in the Reporting Hospital Quality Data for Annual Payment Update...

Study: Although CA nurse-patient ratios have increased, quality of care not necessarily improved

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 8, February 25, 2009

    The California HealthCare Foundation has released a study that shows that although the state began...

NQF endorses 45 practices for providing culturally sensitive care

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 8, February 25, 2009

    The National Quality Forum (NQF) has endorsed 45 new practices for delivering culturally competent...

Part of U.S. stimulus bill will give money to comparison of medical treatments

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 7, February 18, 2009

    A portion of the recently passed $787 economic stimulus bill will provide money for studying...

Washington hospitals standardize hospital codes

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 7, February 18, 2009

    In an effort to accommodate the many physicians and nurses who work at more than one hospitals, a...

South Carolina hospitals to work together to fight HAIs

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 6, February 11, 2009

    South Carolina hospitals will join together to fight against healthcare-acquired infections (HAI...

CA hospitals mortality rate data available

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 4, January 28, 2009

    California has published a study ranking hospitals based on their mortality rates, reports The Los...

Surgical checklist shown to reduce risk of error by one third

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 3, January 21, 2009

    A study released by the World Health Organization (WHO) last week shows that when implementing the...

China's government to reform public hospitals

  • Patient Safety Monitor: Global Edition, Issue 2, January 20, 2009

    The Chinese government has been debating a reformation of its public hospitals as one of the many...

Study: Quality reporting services rank same hospitals differently

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 2, January 14, 2009

    A study in the November/December Health Affairs shows that although many quality reporting...

AHRQ awards $3 million for CLABSI prevention program

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 1, January 1, 2009

    Every year, 30,000–62,000 patients die as the result of central line–associated...

One facility identifies four ways to lower rates of CLABSI

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 1, January 1, 2009

    To prevent central line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), Swedish Medical Center in...

Communication key to patient safety program

  • Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety), Issue 1, January 1, 2009

    Throughout his medical career, Eric Schwartz, MD, hospitalist and medical director at Holston...

Australia: Handwashing, response teams part of patient safety initiative

  • Patient Safety Monitor: Global Edition, Issue 25, December 23, 2008

    Australian Health Minister John Della Bosca says that the government will require hospitals to...

Joint Commission says its hospitals increased quality and patient care over last six years

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 49, December 3, 2008

    In its annual report about quality and safety, The Joint Commission has released data to show that...

Pilot program raises quality of cardiac care for ethnic populations

  • Patient Safety Monitor Alert, Issue 48, November 26, 2008

    Back in late 2005 the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation introduced “Expecting Success and...

UK: New Web site rates hospitals

  • Patient Safety Monitor: Global Edition, Issue 22, October 28, 2008

    The National Health Service (NHS) has created a plan to post patient comments about NHS hospitals...

Canada: Toronto hospital cuts death rate in half

  • Patient Safety Monitor: Global Edition, Issue 22, October 28, 2008

    Scarborough Hospital, Canada's largest urban community hospital, has turned around its reputation...