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(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…
(SSA & Co.: New York)-- Shrink, a measure of the difference between the amount of goods a company should have on hand and its actual inventory, cost United States retailers more than $40 billion in 2007, according to SSA & Co. However, by changing the way they approach the problem of…
(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- The American Society for Quality (ASQ) is hosting the 2009 Lean Six Sigma Conference, March 2–3, 2009, in Phoenix. The conference will teach professionals the skills they need to sustain a lean Six Sigma culture at their companies.
This year ASQ will offer its largest…
(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…
(ISO: Geneva) -- When trying to describe the taste, smell, or feel of a product, a universe of terms and sensations will come to mind. This can be problematic when comparing products through sensory analysis. A new International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard will reduce this…
(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…
(WCBF: Chicago) -- The winners for all categories and the special awards were announced at the Global Six Sigma & Business Improvement Awards Gala Dinner on Oct. 15, held at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center, in Orlando, Florida.
Mark Pigott, chairman and CEO of PACCAR received…
(EIU: New York) -- Is information governance important to a company’s success? Yes, according to “The Future of Enterprise Information Governance,” published by the Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd. and sponsored by EMC Corp., headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. Despite the seemingly…
(Bosch Rexroth Corp.: Buchanan, Michigan) -- Developed with lean manufacturing expert Jamie Flinchbaugh, as episode six of Bosch Rexroth's lean manufacturing podcast series, “Daily Problem Solving in a Lean Organization” explores principles and work practices that businesses, which have already…
(SSA & Co.: New York) -- Technology transformation is the issue. Through the use of lean Six Sigma and Technology Transformation Optimization Powered by Process, or TTOp as it is familiarly known, a new methodology to integrate process improvement approaches, benefits identified on the…
(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…
(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- Claire Anne and the Talking Hat (Quality Press, 2008), a new children’s book written by Barbara Cleary, takes a unique approach to reaching kids using quality concepts that can make school work easier and learning more fun.
The brightly illustrated book follows Claire Anne,…
(CPP Inc.: Mountain View, California) -- In western culture, we tend to think of the term “conflict” in the negative. When discussing conflict in the business world, we generally speak of it as a diminishing force on productivity, an ill that only compounds the difficulties of a job, and an…
Europe leaped ahead of North America and Asia Pacific in achieving significant cost reductions, revenue gains, and sustainability improvements through supply chain advancements, according to the 2008 Global Survey of Supply Chain Progress from Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC), Supply Chain…
(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- For Christopher Parker, corporate director of quality systems development and lean manufacturing for Benchmark Electronics Inc., located in Winona, Minnesota, applying quality tools to a local volunteer activity was a concept that hit home—literally. When a massive flood…
(Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology: Dubai, UAE) -- International Organization of Standardization’s (ISO) 31st General Assembly in Dubai from October 12–17, at the Grand Hyatt, will address international standardization in energy efficiency, environmental performance, and the…
(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,…
(Hexagon Metrology: North Kingstown, R. I.) --Hexagon Metrology has announced that it has acquired Advanced Digital Measurement Works LLC of Santa Ana, California. The company was originally part of the Surveyor’s Service Company (Servco), also a Hexagon-owned company. Advanced Digital Measurement…
(Geomagic: Research Triangle Park, N.C.) -- Geomagic has launched three new Geomagic Studio editions that target specific application needs in mechanical design and medical/scientific markets. Geomagic Studio is the world's leading software for creating accurate 3-D digital models from scan data…
(Delcam plc: Birmingham, United Kingdom) -- Delcam plc demonstrated Version 5 of its PowerINSPECT software at the IMTS exhibition held in Chicago from September 8-13. This new release of the world’s most successful hardware-independent inspection software includes support for five-axis…
(Creaform: Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Creaform, developer and manufacturer of the well-known Handyscan 3-D lineup of hand-held and self-positioning laser scanners, once again pushes the limits of portable 3-D scanning and introduces its newest and most innovative product: the VIUscan, a self-…