Motivated by studies on the prevalence of adverse drug events (ADE) and by directives from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) initiatives and The Joint Commission, hospitals have turned their focus to patient safety.

Surgical complications in the U.S. account for 2.4 million days of patient hospital stay at a charge of $9.3 billion (Supplement on SCIP, 2007).

Standards and protocols that make-up today’s Internet — such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP) — were invented in universities more than 30 years ago.

As I ponder the first session of the 110th Congress, a number of words come to mind. The most appropriate is probably “déjà vu.”

In 1980, Stanford University School of Business professor Alain Enthoven wrote a book titled Health Plan: The Only Practical Solution to the Soaring Cost of Medical Care.

As this issue of PSQH goes to press, healthcare bloggers are buzzing about a federal agency that recently shut down a prominent quality improvement program.

Medical devices are essential for the practice of modern medicine. However, unlike the inter-connected “plug-and-play” world of modern computers and consumer electronics, most medical devices used for the care of high-acuity patients are designed to operate independently and do not employ open networking standards for data communication or for device control.

With the advent of the 80-hour workweek for residents at academic health centers, there has been a predictable increase in the number of patient handoffs during a hospital stay.

Heart disease is one of the nation’s most serious chronic diseases, affecting more than 19 million Americans and costing some $213 billion annually in treatment and lost economic productivity costs.

When the Federal Government proposes new standards to permit electronic prescribing in ambulatory care settings next April, the experiences of nearly 50 small, community-based physician practices in northeastern Ohio are likely to help shape their recommendations.