July/August 2014 Quality Conundrums Lynn Helmer, MD, MBA, CHCQM • ABQAURP Diplomate since 1998 • http://www.drdnj.com Patient Privacy versus Patient Branding – A Quality Conundrum? Is patient privacy a thing of the past? Even in a world of HIPAA compliance, there remains ample opportunity for patients to be, or feel, violated. Have branding and … Continued

An Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee has studied the system for governance and public funding of graduate medical education (GME) and finds that it suffers from a “striking absence of transparency and accountability” (IOM, 2014, p. S-13) and provides a physician workforce that is out of sync with the nation’s current needs. 

Lionheart Publishing launched the first issue of Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare (PSQH) in August 2004. Earlier that year, Pennsylvania implemented the first statewide mandatory reporting system (“Pennsylvania Is First State,” 2004); President George Bush pledged to make electronic health records available to most patients by 2014 (White House, n.d.), and Harvard sophomore Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook (Facebook, 2014).

Ten years, 60 to-press deadlines, more than 240 feature articles, at least that many columns—thinking about how much material we’ve published in 10 years gives me pause, and that’s only in print.

The change is underway. The healthcare ecosystem is officially shifting from volume- to outcome-based reimbursement. With so much at stake, risk-bearing provider organizations are well aware of the importance of “getting it right” and “doing it well.” 

As independent companies built railroad lines in the 19th century, each company chose a different gauge—the distance between the inner rails—for their track. As the railway industry first grew out of the need to transport mined materials…

As the demand for clinical documentation grows, physicians find themselves torn between attending to patients and recordkeeping, often working on computer systems that are distracting for physicians and patients alike. 

Barcodes are everywhere. In the hospital environment, they are used for tracking medication, IV fluids, equipment and, of course, patients themselves. 

This article on the transition from hospital to home is the third in a series (see sidebar, pg. 28) that focuses on the healthcare journey of patients and families using the experiences of a real patient, Max. Vignettes have been extracted from a presentation given by Valerie, Max’s mother at One Voice: Patient- and Family-Centered Care, a program held at Mayo Clinic in 2008. These articles highlight how family-centered practices can enhance the healthcare experience for patients and their families.

Safety experts, policy makers, and regulators cite technology solutions as key strategies to create a safer healthcare environment (Kohn, Corrigan & Donaldson, 2000; Wachter, 2012). Infusion pumps with built-in decision support logic for dosing limits and clinical advisories are one such solution currently employed by many hospitals.