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This informative newsletter is a 12-page monthly resource that provides you with the hands-on advice, tools (including data collection forms), and best practices that you need to ensure your hospital scores high on its quality measures and receives all of the Medicare reimbursement it deserves!

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Quality Improvement Report

Issue 11, December 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Follow this advice for a smoother JCAHO survey

  Expect a peppering of questions from surveyors during your next JCAHO survey. As you know, JCAHO...

• Six Sigma helped Virtua Health improve public data scores in months

  In its quest to become one of the best hospital systems in the country, two years ago Virtua Health...

• Scorecard strategies: Seven steps to uncorking ED bottlenecks

  Leadership scorecards can be an effective way to focus leadership's attention on the right monitors...

Issue 10, November 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Hospitalists can save money, reduce length of stay

  Even though a growing number of hospitals are hiring hospitalists to improve patient outcomes...

• How one surgical care unit cut its VAP rate in half

  Improved hand hygiene, better endotracheal tubes, and an enhanced oral-care regiment helped WakeMed...

• Borrowing proven QI methods from other industries: A primer in Six Sigma

  The application of Six Sigma in other industries, including some service organization, has been...

Issue 9, October 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• CareMaps help change physician behavior, improve outcomes

  Finding it difficult to convince all the physicians at your facility to adhere to evidence-based...

• Learn how to decrease hospital-acquired pressure ulcers by 50%

  When nurses and patient care technicians hear the Olympic theme song blaring over the loud speaker...

• Where does your hospital fall on electronic records?

  Welcome to the decade of health information technology. That's what the Department of Health and...

Issue 8, September 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• When going electronic, beware of unforeseen safety, quality issues

  Although switching to a computerized physician order entry (CPOE) or electronic health record...

• How one hospital established an award-winning culture of safety

  Ever wonder exactly what it means to develop a "culture of safety"? Consider this: The facility...

• Follow Leapfrog standards to improve outcomes

  Hospitals could save nearly 8,000 lives each year and lower their mortality rates by as much as...

• What's in your measurements reporting toolbox?

  Editor's note: The following are some of the most common and useful tools for depicting performance...

Issue 7, August 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Prepare to field questions from a curious public about your quality scores

  Join forces with your organization's risk manager and public relations (PR) specialist to prepare...

• Understanding how disclosure affects quality, safety

  Create a safer environment for patients by helping physicians overcome the shame that prevents them...

Issue 6, July 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Learn how a simple form can boost your publicly reported scores

  Imagine you're back in college, burning the midnight oil, and writing a 10-page term paper that's...

• How to raise quality outcomes scores by 70 points in two months

  It seemed an impossible task when leaders met with quality and accreditation professionals at the...

• Quality of care is a fast-growing compliance issue

  Book excerpt: The QI director's role in avoiding OIG scrutiny Quality professionals take heed...

Issue 5, June 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Open ICU visiting hours can improve quality, safety

  Here's a simple way to boost your patient satisfaction scores, improve communication, and enhance...

• Can't get no patient satisfaction? Try puttin' on the Ritz

  When the North Shore-Long Island.Jewish (North Shore LIJ) Health System wanted to increase patient...

• Study finds quality of care lacking---even for most common conditions

  The quality measures such as these that CMS is tying to Medicare reimbursement this year are a...

• Three low-tech ways to improve quality

  Your organization doesn't have to spend millions to make long-lasting improvements to its patient...

Issue 4, May 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Silent nights quiet patient complaints at a New York hospital

  It's a problem in even the most renowned hospitals in the nation: On many hospital units, noise...

• Know your patients by heart

  Ensuring that hospitals improve upon performance in cardiac care is critical today because the...

• How compliance and quality intersect

  The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is keeping a close watch on hospitals that may be billing...

Issue 3, April 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Eliminating problem abbreviations takes time, consistent effort

  When the Madison (WI) Patient Safety Collaborative launched its first improvement project in...

• Use these nine tips to publicize your quality-improvement projects

  Convincing your local newspaper to write a positive story about your organization's latest...

• Patient complaints can give hospitals the information they need

  Editor's note: All of the case scenarios included in this excerpt are real-life events from St...

• When physicians don't follow policy and procedure

  Complaints can surface in the most unexpected places, including the medical record.

Issue 2, March 11, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Rapid-cycle tests can identify solutions to patient-flow problems

  Frequent logjams in your emergency department (ED) are a sure indicator that your entire hospital...

• Twelve ways to run better meetings

  Although meetings are a necessary evil for most quality professionals, there are ways to make them...

• How one hospital eased its ED throughput

  The emergency department (ED) throughput subprocess begins when the patient arrives at the ED for a...

• Clarify how you'll use data before you collect them

  Editor's note:.Welcome to a recurring feature of Briefings on Quality Improvement and Data...

Issue 1, February 28, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How a Texas hospital reduced bed turnaround time by 76%

  At this time last year, hospitals within San Antonio's University Health System (UHS) took an...

• Medicare reform: How CMS will tie quality to reimbursement

  Larger hospitals could lose up to $3 million in annual Medicare reimbursement if they don't report...

• Industry leaders want a federal agency for quality

  National health care quality advocates, including the leader of the Joint Commission on...