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The Problem Emergency departments across the nation are being stretched as more Americans rely on them for primary care. ED patient visits climbed 36 percent between 1999 and 2006, according to the CDC. As an urban safety-net hospital, Mount Sinai faced an even tougher challenge. When nearby…
The Problem In a 2008 medical staff satisfaction survey, 93 percent of Advocate Good Shepherd physicians indicated overall satisfaction with the hospital. However, the satisfaction rate for hospital laboratory turnaround times was between 50 percent and 60 percent. In addition, a discharge-time…
Harborview Medical Center - Community House CallsTo contribute to the well being of refugee and immigrant patients, families and communities through a partnership that promotes culturally competent care.
The ProblemMedication reconciliation—comparing a patient's medication orders to all medications the patient has been taking—helps to avoid medication errors such as omissions, duplications, dosing errors and drug interactions. The Institute for Safe Medication Practice estimates…
The Problem The results of blood tests are crucial to physician decision making. At St. Luke's, physicians expect to have lab test results available for morning rounds as early as 6 am. However, the phlebotomy team was regularly challenged to complete the early morning collection of blood…
The Problem St. Francis struggled getting non-emergent patients from the door to an ED bed in a timely manner. From December 2008 through February 2009, the average time from ED arrival to ED bed for ESI 3, 4 and 5 patients was 43 minutes. The Solution Under the Urgent Matters Collaborative, St.…
The Problem Almost 20 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. Each older adult readmission costs the hospital an average of $7,400. In addition, patients may have unmet biological, psychological and social factors that impede their ability to…
Illness from C. diff commonly affects older adults in hospitals or long-term care facilities and typically occurs after the use of antibiotics. Since most patients at Regency arrive from other hospitals, C. diff infections can be common. In 2005, the number of C. diff cases per patient days times…