Search Tag: quality improvement
Surgical-site-infection-tops-list-of-reasons-for-unplanned-readmissions
2015 08 Feb
Hospital readmissions present a major challenge for administrators working to reduce costs and improve care quality metrics. It is not only chronic medical conditions which can be problematic for hospitals wishing to avoid financial penalties for readmissions: many patients are readmitted with complications following surgical procedures. According...Read more
Quality-initiatives-involving-nonphysician-providers-in-radiology
2015 02 Feb
Quality is a multifaceted endeavour, which is very important and complex in medical imaging. Engaging many different individuals in the radiology department is necessary to improve quality and service for patients. A recent study published in the Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal aimed to assess three new quality initiatives in radiology...Read more
Early-physical-therapy-improves-icu-patient-outcomes
2015 13 Jan
According to a Johns Hopkins Medicine-led study, quality improvement processes for delivering early physical rehabilitation in an intensive care unit (ICU) that were sustained during a five-year period resulted in improved patient outcomes. These processes spurred major changes in clinical practices for treating critically ill patients by encouraging...Read more
Hospice-positively-impacts-medicare-hospitalisations-and-spending
2014 11 Nov
A study published in the 12 November issue of JAMA reports that hospice care for Medicare patients who are terminally ill with cancer is associated with fewer intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, lower rates of hospitalisation and invasive procedures, and significant reductions in medical expenditures during a patient’s final year of life....Read more
Clinical-leadership-and-the-challenge-of-change
2014 08 Nov
Key Points • Having clinicians involved in management improves outcomes for patients and saves money. • Partnerships between clinicians, professional organisations and managers has allowed spread of innovation at scale in Ireland. • Clinicians and managers are together the stewards of healthcare. • “what’s well-made endures, and shines on”....Read more
Accreditation-a-common-quality-enhancing-strategy
2014 27 Oct
As many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) pursue healthcare reforms in order to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), the development of national accreditation systems has become an increasingly common quality-enhancing strategy endorsed by payers, including Ministries of Health. For example, the Joint Learning Network (JLN) for Universal...Read more
Strategies-to-reduce-ami-mortality-rates
2014 29 Sep
Survival rates after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) vary markedly across US hospitals. From 2006 to 2009, 30-day risk-standardised mortality rates (RSMR) after AMI varied from 13.2 percent to 18.4 percent at the 5th and 95th percentiles of hospitals, respectively. Although substantial efforts have been made to improve hospital performance, there...Read more