Plenty of Time to Qualify for and Collect 2011 PQRS Incentives
By John Haughton, MD, MS
Physicians following quality best practices are doing themselves a disservice if they are not participating in the 2011Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), the voluntary pay-for-performance federal program — formerly known as the Physicians Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI).
Patient Safety on the Move in Hospital Pharmacies
Notes from the American Society of Health System Pharmacists’ (ASHP) 2011 meeting.
By Mitch Work, MPA, FHIMSS
Billed as the largest conference for hospital pharmacists in the world, the 46th Annual ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition was held Dec. 4-8 in New Orleans.
EScreenz™ Improves Communication and Enhances Patient Safety
Rochester, New York—EScreenz™ is a new internal communication solution that transforms screensaver technology into an effective communication medium. Originally developed for hospitals, EScreenz broadcasts multiple slide show messages on desktops, laptops – even big screens – throughout a facility across various locations. Intranet, Internet and SharePoint sites are enhanced because users can click on the screensaver to directly access any web page or document online.
Clinical Decision Support Tools’ Impact on Healthcare Still Expanding
New Orleans—With new EMR infrastructure under their heels and tightening budgets under their belts, providers are looking to new clinical decision support (CDS) tools to give better—not more—healthcare. But do CDS tools deliver? For the new KLAS report, Clinical Decision Support 2011: Understanding the Impact, KLAS interviewed 344 providers to rate their CDS tools’ performance and better understand the influence of these new CDS tools on patient care.
Conference News – Ready for the Challenge: IHI’s National Forum
by Susan Carr
Each December, I head to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) National Forum for a reliable dose of news, education, colleagues from around the world, and plenty of new ideas to keep things interesting.
Fall Prevention Showcase
Fall Prevention Showcase
What Goes Down—Shouldn’t
Between 2 and 15% of hospital patients in the United States experience falls. Nearly a third result in injuries and sometimes even death. Preventing falls in the acute environment is a constant battle against gravity and human behavior.
Patient Safety in Africa: A Culture Shift?
Patient Safety in Africa: A Culture Shift?
Patient safety has received increased attention in African countries in the last decade, yet little is known about African patient safety challenges and quality improvement opportunities.
Telluride Interdisciplinary Patient Safety Roundtable
Telluride Interdisciplinary Patient Safety Roundtable:
Medical Students’ Daily Narrative Reflections
As each new report of medical harm is published, the need to redesign medical education to prepare young physicians capable of approaching patient care in ways that decrease the opportunity for harm reaches a new level of urgency.
Gray Market, Black Heart
ISMP
Gray Market, Black Heart
Pharmaceutical gray market finds a disturbing niche during the drug shortage crisis.
Widespread accounts of frustration, outrage, and serious compromises to patient care came across loud and clear from purchasing agents and pharmacists at 549 hospitals who participated in ISMP’s July-August survey (2011) on gray market activities associated with drug shortages.
The Link Between Transparency and Patient Safety
Event Reporting
The Link Between Transparency and Patient Safety
Since early 2010, 13 private, acute care hospitals in Rhode Island have been collaborating in a major initiative to improve patient safety through better reporting of data on adverse and near-miss medical events. The hospitals now use the same medical event reporting technology and have standardized their reporting criteria.