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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 12, December 1, 2005

• Hospital takes steps to reduce hospital-acquired delirium

  At Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina, MN, officials in 2003 were looking for a green belt Six...

Issue 2, February 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Pay-for-performance reimbursement looms on horizon for hospitals

  Editor's note: This is the first in a two-part series about pay for performance. This month...

• Rapid response teams help hospitals improve patient outcomes

  Editor's note: This is the first in a series on the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's (IHI...

• IHI can help you improve quality at your facility

  A JCAHO National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) and empowering patients were among the top 10...

• Achieve primary stroke center certification with these tips

  Earning JCAHO certification as a primary stroke center requires hospitals to collect data and meet...

Issue 11, November 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Hospitals reporting on mix of national, state quality measures

  Hospitals, by and large, cope well with the myriad demands of reporting quality data and have...

• VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System takes lead in reducing MRSA

  The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System has taken steps to substantially reduce methicillin resistant...

• Improvements in hospitals require commitment of senior-level executives

  "Spread" improvement can affect your hospital’s adaptation of quality improvement protocols...

• Developing your hospital’s PI plan

  Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from Performance Improvement: Winning Strategies...

• AHRQ launches program that will compare treatments

  The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announced on September 29 its new...

Issue 10, October 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• California report card to combine different measure sets

  California is embarking on an ambitious project to develop a comprehensive hospital performance...

• Latest Premier pilot results show greater improvement

  The latest data from Premier, Inc.’s demonstration project about pay for performance show...

• CMS adds new measures to Hospital Compare Web site

  CMS and the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA) have added three new quality measures to the Hospital...

• Hospitals show variation in meeting quality measures

  Results of a landmark study about how hospitals meet certain quality measures associated with heart...

• Close doesn't cut it when it comes to safety

  Making a commitment to patient safety has to be an absolute process that leads to decisive action...

Issue 9, September 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• New patient safety law to facilitate sharing of medical error data

  The consensus among professionals in the healthcare quality field is that the new patient safety...

• Pennsylvania embarks on initiative to reduce hospital infections

  Pennsylvania continues to be at the forefront of efforts to reduce hospital-acquired infections...

• Reducing lab delays critical to successful PCI reperfusion therapy outcomes

  Reducing the time it takes for cardiac catheterization laboratory personnel to respond to acute...

• Canada starts version of 100,000 Lives campaign

  Inspired by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) 100,000 Lives campaign, Canadian...

Issue 8, August 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Speak up: Communication is key for patient hand-offs

  New JCAHO requirement calls for more verbal exchange The JCAHO’s new National Patient...

• Walkrounds lead to safety success

  Executive walkrounds, leadership walkrounds, and patient safety walkrounds are several terms going...

• Hospital gets patriotic with abbreviation education

  Enlisting the help of Uncle Sam may be one way to undo centuries of confusing prescribing...

• Hospitals get satisfaction through patient surveys

  Keeping your hospital's patient satisfaction survey concise and to the point is a strategy that...

• Choosing and developing ED boarder hours

  Tracking ED boarder hours helped one hospital correct delays in patient admissions and reduce...

Issue 7, July 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• New goal requires hospitals to label meds, containers, solutions

  A new National Patient Safety Goal released May 31 requiring organizations to "hand off...

• Team process helps NJ hospital improve AMI patient care

  Editor’s note: This article is the last in a series highlighting the Institute for Healthcare...

• Track JCAHO standards compliance with a dashboard

  Although an organizational dashboard can be used to track quality indicators such as patient...

Issue 6, June 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Five steps, data help NY hospital cut central line infections by two-thirds

  Editor’s note: The following story is part of an ongoing series about the Institute for...

• Hospitals must pay attention to healthcare inequalities

  Cultural competency education, hiring staff with open attitudes, and providing services to the...

• Six steps to building an effective balanced scorecard

  Quick: You have a two-floor ride in an elevator with your chief executive officer and medical...

Issue 5, May 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Prevention efforts produce bundles of success for MN hospitals

  Editor's note: This story is part of an ongoing series on the Institute for Healthcare...

• E-records help one IL hospital make top 100 list 10 times

  Evanston (IL) Northwestern Healthcare was recently named one of the top 100 U.S. hospitals for the...

• Five ways to spread your facility's quality message

  Educate your hospital's communications staff about the new CMS Web site for hospital quality data...

• Five ways to include baseline measures into PI efforts

  Baseline measures of performance are areas that you believe to be instrumental in producing...

Issue 4, April 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Reduce surgical infections with bundled measures from IHI

  Editor's note: This is the first article in an ongoing series that reviews each goal of the...

• Get with these guidelines to reduce risk of stroke, heart attack

  A patient who has just experienced a heart attack or stroke is more likely than a person who is at...

• Geography can't contain intensive care at NYC hospital

  In most hospitals, the intensive care unit (ICU) is confined to a single space-but not at...

• CPOE in progress: One hospital's experience

  From the moment Memorial Health University Medical Center hired Steve Stanic as its chief...

Issue 3, March 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Smooth patient flow helps increase patient satisfaction, unit efficiency

  Nurses are on the verge of quitting, pregnant patients are angry and sent away daily, and the unit...

• CMS pilot project puts quality 'front and center' with leaders

  Editor's note: This is the second in a two-part series about CMS' pay-for-performance pilot. If...

• Baby steps can help boost reconciliation rates

  Keep it simple. Milford (MA) Regional Medical Center followed that philosophy when implementing...

Issue 1, January 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• IHI launches campaign to save 100,000 lives by 2006

  -The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) plans to save 100,000 lives in the next year with...

• New Jersey hospital wins 2004 presidential award for quality

  All 1,734 employees at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton (NJ) carry a card every...

• Creating a data collection and reporting system

  Many improvement efforts fail because a process (including the resources) to collect the data is...

Issue 12, December 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Cincinnati hospital system achieves quality through IT investment

  A Cincinnati-area hospital system has made great strides in quality improvement through a massive...

• AK hospital lowers VAP rate to zero

  Qualis Health bestowed the prestigious Award of Excellence in Health Care Quality on Providence...

• Get senior leaders on board for SCIP

  As CMS prepares to unveil the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) early next year, one member...

• Adopting change strategies requires leadership at the top

  Some executive leaders freely admit they need fundamental change within their organization, but...

• Hospitals in Premier demonstration show improvement in quality

  CMS reported November 14 that quality of care has improved significantly in hospitals participating...