News Archive - Page 286 of 329 - Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare

Infection Control

Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc. Launches Online Tool to Help Reduce Number of Surgical Site Infections

February 16, 2011 ‐ Brooke Schmidt

Piscataway, New Jersey, February 16, 2011—Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc., launched the Safe Surgery Initiative (www.safesurgeryinitiative.com), a website for providers, health plans and employers to provide customizable tools geared to educate providers and patients about preventing surgical site infections (SSI).

Environment and Facilities

New Toolkit Will Help Emergency Departments Prevent and Mitigate Violence Against Staff

February 16, 2011 ‐ Brooke Schmidt

February 16, 2011—Violence in hospital emergency departments is a well-documented and serious problem. The majority of emergency department nurses have experienced some form of verbal or physical abuse at the hands of a patient or a patient’s friend or relative at some point in their careers.

Quality Improvement

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and 22 Michigan Trauma Centers Partner Launch Statewide Trauma Quality Care Initiative

February 11, 2011 ‐ Brooke Schmidt

Detroit, February 11, 2011—Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Care Network, and 22 trauma centers throughout the state, in partnership with the American College of Surgeons, are launching an initiative aimed at improving quality and safety of care provided in Michigan’s trauma centers.

Patient Safety

GE Listed as National Patient Safety Organization by HHS, AHRQ

February 10, 2011 ‐ Brooke Schmidt

Barrington, Illinois, February 10, 2011—The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) has listed the GE-MERS National Patient Safety Organization (GE PSO) as part of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) Patient Safety Organization (PSO) program.

Technology

Study Finds Radio Frequency Technology Highly Effective in Preventing Retained Surgical Items in Bariatric Procedures

February 10, 2011 ‐ Brooke Schmidt

Bellevue, Washington, February 10, 2011—RF Surgical Systems, Inc., the market leader in the prevention and detection of retained surgical sponges, announced the first published data on the power of radio frequency technology to identify retained surgical items in all patient types.

Patient Safety

HCMC and Ergolet Team for Safe Patient Transfer

February 9, 2011 ‐ Brooke Schmidt

Minneapolis, February 9, 2011—Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) in Minneapolis has selected Ergolet as its partner to implement a safe patient handling program for patients who need assisted lifting or transfer to bathrooms, beds or wheelchairs.

Leadership

McKesson Partners with Regional Extension Centers to Drive EHR Adoption at Primary Care Practices

February 9, 2011 ‐ Brooke Schmidt

Atlanta, February 9, 2011—McKesson announced that it is teaming with regional extension centers (RECs) nationwide to help thousands of physicians become meaningful users of electronic health record (EHR) technology.

Medication Safety

AllMed Introduces New ROI Model for External Peer Review

February 9, 2011 ‐ Brooke Schmidt

Portland, Oregon,February 9, 2011—AllMed Healthcare Management, an independent review organization, has taken the lead in demonstrating how hospitals can now affordably and effectively achieve their risk management goals.

Quality Improvement

There’s Still Time to Qualify for 2010 PQRI Financial Incentives, but You Must Act Fast

February 8, 2011 ‐ Patton McGinley

By John Nelson

When the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched its Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) in 2007, the Heart Center of North Texas explored, but decided against, participating in the program. The effort of collecting and reporting quality measures was so complex and onerous that it was not worth the time or effort involved.

Quality Improvement

National Priorities Partnership Addresses the Question of Reducing Healthcare Costs while Improving Quality

February 3, 2011 ‐ Brooke Schmidt

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 3, 2011—Taking on areas of healthcare that together account for billions of dollars in wasteful spending, the National Priorities Partnership (NPP) released sets of specific actions to reduce healthcare costs by addressing preventable hospital readmissions, reducing emergency department overuse, and preventing medication errors.