Quality & Patient Safety

In a report released today, an AHA task force unveiled a set of nine strategies for maintaining access to health care services in vulnerable communities. Comprised of 29 hospital and health system leaders and state hospital association CEOs, the task force held meetings, heard from policymakers and…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is accepting comments on a proposed update to its 2011 recommendations for the use of chlorhexidine-impregnated dressings to prevent intravascular catheter-related infections. The draft recommendation update is based on a systematic review of the…
Quality and safety are “top of the agenda” at urban and rural hospitals across the country. At Howard Memorial Hospital, a 20-bed critical access hospital in Nashville, Ark., a multidisciplinary team led a focused project to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). Educating…
Millions of Americans are preparing to give thanks and celebrate Thanksgiving with their friends and loved ones. America’s hospitals also are preparing, but for a different reason. Flu season is upon us. We again are organizing the United Against the Flu Campaign – a collaborative effort by several…
This week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been shining a light on antibiotic resistance through their Get Smart about Antibiotics Week campaign. We have been pleased to take part in activities marking the week, which culminated with a global Twitter Chat today. You can join the…
The buzzword these days in quality improvement is “HIIN.” That’s short for Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks, part of the continuation of the Partnership for Patients program. It succeeds the recently concluded Hospital Engagement Networks and will work to reduce overall hospital-acquired…
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today posted the final incentive payment adjustment factors for the fiscal year 2017 Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program, which are being used to adjust base operating Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Group payments to eligible hospitals for…
Patient-related risk factors appear to be the primary driver of readmissions in hospitals serving a higher proportion of minority patients, according to a study published online yesterday by the journal Surgery. The researchers examined outcomes and patient factors in more than 168,000…
Studies and ReportsRecommendations to Improve the Assessment, Treatment, and Transfer of Psychiatric Patients to State-Operated HospitalsIllinois Hospital Association, March 2008
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today warned health care providers and patients about the potential risk of infection from certain devices used during open heart surgery. Stöckert 3T heater-cooler devices, made by LivaNova PLC (formerly Sorin Group Deutschland GmbH), may have been…