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Quality of hospital care in the United States is improving nearly 3 percent annually, remaining the highest rate of quality improvement among the major health care delivery settings, according to the National Healthcare Quality Report 2008 (NHQR), which was released in May by the Agency for…
Baldrige award medallion.
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- Seventy organizations have taken the first step toward the 2009 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest recognition for innovation and performance excellence.…
(NAHQ e-news: Gleview, Illinois) -- Hospital leaders looking for field-tested practices, proven strategies, tools, and education to support ongoing efforts to improve the patient experience and outcomes in their hospitals have a new resource from the American Hospital Association (AHA).
“…
(InfinityQS International: Chantilly, Virginia) -- Saving the lives of children who have suffer from pediatric cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases was the goal for InfinityQS when the company committed to donate $1 million to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“We chose to…
(Moresteam.com: Columbus, Ohio) -- Cardinal Health, a global manufacturer and distributor of health care supplies and technologies, uses innovative lean Six Sigma training methods to pursue their goal of total process and safety excellence. In a Feb. 19 web cast available to the public, Cardinal…
(ISPE: Tampa, Florida) – The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering, a global not-for-profit association of 25,000 pharmaceutical science and manufacturing professionals, will hold the 2009 Tampa Conference at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida, March 2–5.
Among the many…
(WCBF: Chicago) -- Learn how to effectively confront the barriers for the deployment of lean and Six Sigma in a health care setting at Worldwide Conventions and Business Forum’s (WCBF) 8th Annual Lean, Six Sigma and Process Improvement in Healthcare Summit. The event will be held March 18–19, with…
(Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute: Atlanta) -- Georgia rural hospitals that face growing financial pressures are receiving assistance from a new Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) pilot project that is helping them improve processes and reduce waste. Supported by the…
(Joint Commission: Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois) -- According to a recent report, Joint Commission-accredited hospitals in the United States have steadily improved the quality of patient care during a six-year period, saving lives and improving the health of thousands of patients. “Improving America…
(HHS: Washington) -- Designed to advance collaboration within the quality measurement community and to synchronize measurement, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has developed an inventory of quality measures that are used for reporting, payment, or quality improvement by its…
(Commonwealth Fund: New York) -- How do patients feel about the care they receive in U.S. hospitals? A study in the October 30 New England Journal of Medicine, supported by the Commonwealth Fund, shows that while patients are generally satisfied with their care, satisfaction levels aren't as high…
(The Joint Commission: Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois) -- Beginning Jan. 1, 2009, under a new Joint Commission policy, laboratory accreditation decisions will no longer immediately affect hospital accreditation decisions. This policy establishes comparability in the way that a laboratory with an…
(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Washington, D.C.) -- As the beginning of the annual election period for the Medicare Prescription Drug Program nears, many seniors and their caregivers are in the dark about how the program works and how to make the most of it. This is something Esther…
(Press Ganey Associates Inc.: South Bend, Indiana) -- By analyzing patient satisfaction data representing 1.5 million patients and 1,158 hospitals across the nation from January 2007 through June 2008, Press Ganey Associates Inc. found a dramatic upturn in patient satisfaction, strengthening the…
(AHRQ: Rockville, Maryland) -- The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (Patient Safety Act) authorized the creation of patient safety organizations (PSOs) to improve safety through the collection and analysis of data on patient safety events. By providing privilege and confidentiality, PSOs…
(National Quality Forum: Washington, D.C.) -- To support consumer engagement and improved quality in health care, the National Quality Forum (NQF) endorsed guidelines for consumer-focused, internet-based public reporting. These guidelines will assist report sponsors to present information about…
(Best Practices LLC: Chapel Hill, North Carolina) -- Within the hospital marketplace, pharmaceutical and biotechnology salespeople must negotiate increasingly complex organizational and decision-making structures to effectively represent their brands. Hospital formulary decisions are not only…
(Medco Health Solutions Inc.: Franklin Lakes, N.J.) -- Noting that the United States spends twice as much per capita on health care as most other developed nations, but achieves no better clinical outcomes, Medco Health Solutions Inc. chairman and CEO, David B. Snow, Jr., unveiled a…
(HHS: Washington, D.C.) -- The Chartered Value Exchanges (CVEs) is a growing movement to build a health care system where consumers, providers, and payers make decisions based on the value and quality of care. Currently, there are 25 local collaborations of health care providers, employers,…
(AHRQ: Rockville, Maryland) -- Potentially preventable medical errors that occur during or after surgery may cost employers nearly $1.5 billion a year, according to new estimates by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
In a study…
(CMS: Baltimore, Maryland) -- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) announced payment of more than $36 million in bonus payments to many of the more than 56,700 health professionals who satisfactorily reported quality information to Medicare under the 2007 Physician Quality Reporting…
(NCQA: Washington, D.C.) -- The National Committee for Quality Assurance recently released its 2007 annual report, “Coming Home to Better Care.” The report looks at the promise of the patient-centered medical home, a promising approach that seeks to strengthen the patient-physician relationship…
(Quality Digest: Chico, California) -- Be sure to check out the new, fully redesigned Quality Digest homepage and web site. Not only is the new site more aesthetically pleasing than ever, it’s easier to navigate, so you can now find your favorite topics, columnists, departments, and articles…
(IBM: Armonk, New York) -- IBM’s vision statement, "Healthcare 2015 and Care Delivery: Delivery models refined, competencies" defined calls for collaboration among providers to achieve new milestones in defining, measuring and delivering value across national and global health care systems.
The…
(American Society for Quality: Milwaukee, Wisconsin) -- Physician profiles are becoming an integral part of hospital appointment, reappointment, and ongoing professional practice evaluation (OPPE) as now required by The Joint Commission. A free seminar scheduled for Wednesday, July 30, 1-2 p.m…
