HHS: $28 Billion Saved Through Patient Safety Efforts
Efforts to improve patient safety are paying off, according to a new Health and Human Services (HHS) department report.
How to Engage With a Population to Break Down Barriers to Health Improvements
Healthcare organizations seek new engagement solutions for populations challenged to make improvements in their care.
CMS Launches New Physician Engagement Initiative
On October 13, CMS announced a push to improve physician engagement and their experience within the Medicare system. To achieve this goal, the agency is trying to reduce the reduce administrative burdens that physicians have to handle with the new Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).
Exploring Post-Discharge Spaces Designed to Eliminate Gaps in Care
At the end of a hospital stay, many patients find themselves overwhelmed by their experience as well as the often lengthy care directions they’ve been given. Others might find themselves pushed into another care place, one that may not have the resources or focus to holistically address their problems. Too often patients find themselves released from the hospital, only to wind up back in that hospital bed within the 30-day readmission window—a metric closely watched by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and hospitals everywhere.
‘Customer Ownership’ at the Forefront in Alaska
Healthcare organizations strive to improve the quality of care for patients; however, finding methods to do this without increasing costs can be a challenge. Southcentral Foundation (SCF), a nonprofit healthcare organization in Alaska, has found engaging and partnering with patients on their healthcare journey can lead to better care and outcomes without incurring higher costs and actually decreases overall costs.
How A Robust Never Events Policy Can Alter Your Facility’s Culture
Think fast: Does your hospital have a “never events” policy? Does it include apologizing to the patients that were harmed and waiving their costs? Does it include a risk assessment?
If you answered “no” to any of those questions, you are one of the 20% of hospitals across the country that don’t have an adequate never events policy.
Families Help Design Outpatient Center with Special Needs in Mind
When The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) designed a new outpatient building, families were included in the process at every step, from first-draft plans to the official opening of the Buerger Center in July 2015.
Self-Service Calculators for Price Transparency
By Jay Deady Healthcare price transparency is the challenge that just won’t go away, largely because proposed solutions to date leave much to be desired by patients and providers alike. Obviously, few hospitals are enthused about making their chargemaster lists public, and even if they were available, the prices on these lists don’t reflect what … Continued
Strategies for Delivering LGBT-Inclusive Care
By Jennifer Comerford, MJ, OTR/L, CHC, HEM; and Cynthia Wallace, CPHRM Discrimination against individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) has been common in many contexts, including healthcare. Consider the following de-identified events reported to the ECRI Institute PSO, a federally certified patient safety organization (PSO), from January 2013 through mid-2015: Physicians … Continued
Reducing Falls by Engaging Patients
When clinicians walk into a patient’s room at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, they only need a quick glance at a laminated, color-coded sheet of paper next to the bed to understand the fall risks of that patient.