VCU Study Makes the Case for Pharmacists as Healthcare Providers
As pharmacies struggle to find their footing in a hard economy, a study out of Virginia Commonwealth University makes the argument that pharmacists could save millions of lives and cut healthcare costs significantly if they were allowed to help manage patients with chronic conditions.
New Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades Find Improved Infection Rates
The Safety Grades assign a letter grade to nearly 3,000 general hospitals on how well they prevent medical errors, accidents, and infections. The latest grades show hospitals reducing HAIs post-pandemic, after significant increases in infection rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cycle, nearly 30% of hospitals earned an “A,” 24% earned a “B,” 39% earned a “C,” 7% earned a “D,” and less than 1% earned an “F.”
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 91 – Overcoming Healthcare Staffing and Retention Challenges
On episode 91 of PSQH: The Podcast, Pete Reilly, practice leader and chief sales officer of Hub International’s North American healthcare practice, talks about the challenges facing healthcare staffing and retention.
Biden’s AI Plan Spurs ‘Cautious Optimism’ in Healthcare
Specifically for healthcare, the President is giving the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Department six months to draft a strategy to determine whether AI meets the standards for delivering healthcare, and he asks HHS to create a task force within the year to create a plan for responsible AI use.
Share Your Innovative Quality Improvement Ideas
Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare is seeking to spotlight the best healthcare quality improvement case studies. By imparting their in-the-trenches experiences and lessons learned, the chosen case studies will shed light on an issue, practice, or principle that affects stakeholders across the modern medical staff landscape. The deadline to submit nominations is 1/31/24.
The Future of AI in Healthcare: Transparency and Adoption
It’s estimated that AI applications could cut the cost of healthcare in the U.S. by $150 billion in 2026 and help alleviate challenges around staffing shortages. How can we merge the good with the challenging—and is healthcare ready to fully step into the ring with AI?
Leveraging Technology to Provide Personalized Care for Seniors
Rapidly available technology now allows residents of senior living or memory care facilities to receive more personalized engagement, enrichment and development experiences in ways that have been previously unavailable, changing the face of what quality care looks like for an aging population.
Vanderbilt Studies Value of Virtual Care for ICU Discharges
The study, funded by the National Institute on Aging, focuses on post-intensive care syndrome (PICS), which can affect as much as 80% of discharged patients and leads to reduced clinical outcomes, poor quality of life, and rehospitalizations.
AMA President Warns Physician Shortage is ‘Urgent Crisis’
The country is facing an estimated shortage of 37,800 to 124,000 physicians by 2034, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. The projected shortage of primary care physicians ranges from 17,800 to 48,000. The projected shortage of specialists ranges from 21,000 to 77,100.
6 Ways to Reduce Length of Stay
Reducing length of stay cuts costs by decreasing the labor associated with caring for patients. Reducing length of stay also decreases the risk of a patient suffering an adverse event in the hospital such as a hospital-acquired infection or fall.