ABQAURP News
September / October 2010
Are Electronic Health Records the Ultimate Quality Conundrum?
It would seem that almost everyone is talking about electronic health records. A Google search (August 6, 2010) on electronic health record implementation returned 8,840,000 results. A Google search done the same day on Meaningful Use returned 11,300,000 and on Meaningful Use Final Rule, 12,200,000 results. How nice it would be if they all said the same thing!
David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, and Marilyn Tavenner, RN, MHA, proclaimed that, “The widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs) in the United States is inevitable. EHRs will improve caregiver decisions and patient outcomes. Once patients experience the benefits of this technology, they will demand nothing less from their providers. Hundreds of thousands of physicians have already seen these benefits in their clinical practice.” (NEJM blog post July 13, 2010. http://healthcarereform.nejm.org/?p=3732&query=home.)
A few weeks earlier, the Leapfrog Group published the results of a study on 214 hospitals’ use of CPOE systems, which indicated that existing CPOE programs, when tested in a simulated environment, missed almost 50% of routine medication errors and one third of potentially fatal errors! (http://www.leapfroggroup.org/media/file/LeapfrogAnnouncesNewReportontheSafetyofElectronicPrescribinginHospitals.pdf)
Few will argue that improving knowledge management in health care is a crucial step in enhancing the quality of care and patient safety. Electronic health records and CPOE are tools to support these goals. During implementation, careful planning and the vigorous use of quality tools including thoughtful checklists, FMEA, and simulations may help to reap the benefits and avoid some hazards. Good luck!
Please send inquiries and comments to rwillog@abqaurp.org, please use
Quality Column in the subject line.
We look forward to your participation in this new column.
Patient Safety Conference
Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts
Lake Buena Vista, FL
7:45am–5:30pm
For more information or to register: Call Patti Rivers at 800-998-6030, ext. 117
Go online at www.abqaurp.org
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ABQAURP Diplomate attains Fellow status from ACHE
HCQM Certification Examination —
2010 Mentor Program a Success
The American Board of Quality Assurance & Utilization Review Physicians, Inc. would like to take this opportunity to say a very special thank you to all mentors and exam candidates who participated in this program. ABQAURP is pleased to offer this program. Along with being a valuable resource to exam candidates, it also encourages new Diplomates to actively participate in their new organization.
A team of “invited” new 2009 Diplomates were willing to volunteer their time to participate and support their new organization. The volunteer mentors were paired with 2010 exam candidates to share their experience of going through the exam process the previous year. Who better to provide first hand, non-biased experience than Diplomates recently HCQM certified? The mentors were very happy to share their experience and individual style of exam preparation.
The program has been well received by both candidates and mentors. In 2009, 49% of examinees took advantage of the mentor program. In 2010, 65% of examinees requested a mentor.
Thank you to all of the exam candidates who requested a mentor. Very “special” thanks to the mentors who gave of their time and talent to make the program such a success. Mentor dedication and loyalty is vitally important to the success of this program.
Special thanks to the 2010 Mentors:
Nazareth Asorian, DO, FACOS
Lisa M. Campanella-Coppo, MD, FACEP
Suneetha Chowdary, MD
John G. Costa, MD, JD
Jennifer Early, RN, BSN
Lillian G. Ferrer, MD
Ahmed A.H. Ghaneya, R.PH
Samuel Leonard, MD, MBA
Khaled Mahlies, MD
Ashraf Mohamed, MD
Jinhatha Panyasorn, DDS, MSc
Janice Ross, RN, MHA
Muhammad A. Seyed, MD
Professionals who have achieved certification in Health Care Quality and Management (HCQM) are deeply committed to patient safety, health care quality, and effective care. Those certified in HCQM have demonstrated superior skills in their ability to critically evaluate the literature, identify evidence-based best practices, and make a recommendation that balances appropriateness of services with cost and quality. HCQM certification addresses the need for effectiveness, efficiency, equity, safety, and timeliness.
New information for the 2011 HCQM Certification Examination is coming soon, please visit the website at www.abqaurp.org and choose Certification for more information.
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