HealthLeadersMedia.com - Quality Pillar News & Analysis

UC Irvine Medical Center ordered to improve medication management

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:08:00 GMT

California inspectors making a surprise follow-up visit to UC Irvine Medical Center found two deficiencies in "medication management" and issued an "immediate jeopardy" warning, alleging that patient care was at risk, hospital officials said. In an email to staff members, UC Irvine Medical Center Chief Executive Terry A. Belmont said hospital officials already have submitted plans to improve care. Federal investigators have documented repeated examples of poor oversight at the hospital and previously have threatened to cut Medicare funding, the Los Angeles Times reports.

New Orleans coroner says Memorial death will not be reclassified as a homicide

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:39:00 GMT

New Orleans coroner Frank Minyard said today that he will not reclassify as a homicide the post-Hurricane Katrina death of Jannie Burgess, a 79-year-old patient at Memorial Medical Center who received morphine injections and subsequently died days after the storm. At a midday press conference, Minyard called Burgess an "extremely sick" woman and said that it was impossible to determine exactly the cause of her death.

Patient Engagement Occurs One Step at a Time

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:45:00 GMT

One of the steps toward achieving quality care is getting patients more engaged in their health by working with their providers to better understand the treatment they are receiving.

Comparative Effectiveness Research is Lacking, Says Study

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:15:00 GMT

An analysis by researchers of comparative effectiveness studies found that only a few compared medication use with nonpharmacologic interventions, and that only a few examined safety or cost effectiveness, according to a study. Researchers looked at the characteristics and prevalence of CE research on medications published between June 2008 and September 2009 in six general medicine and internal medicine journals.

Report Questions Patient Safety Training, Recommends Improvements

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:07:00 GMT

Today's medical students are not learning enough about patient safety, the importance of teamwork and communication, and safety science, according to a new white paper released by the Lucian Leape Institute at the National Patient Safety Foundation on.

Quantcast Panel urges more choice in birth after C-section

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:38:00 GMT

A National Institutes of Health advisory panel said that vaginal birth after caesarean is reasonably safe and should be more widely available. Such deliveries once accounted for 25% of U.S. births among women with a previous caesarean delivery, but have now fallen to less than 9%. Many women would like to attempt a vaginal delivery, however, and the panel's consensus statement is expected to increase their access to the option. The panel, composed of independent experts in maternal and child health, found that although both VBAC and planned, repeat caesareans posed a range of risks and benefits, women should be allowed more choice.

Heart test may be overused

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:24:00 GMT

The coronary angiogram, a widely used test to detect blockages in the heart's arteries, often turns up little or no evidence of disease, a new study found, suggesting that patients are frequently exposed unnecessarily to the risks and costs of the invasive examination.

More Children Hospitalized With Severe Clostridium Difficile, Says Study

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:01:00 GMT

The strain of clostridium difficile causing severe disease in children has been increasing from 7.24 per 10,000 hospitalizations in 1997 to 12.8 in 2006, most of it during the latter six years, according to a new study. The study's author says the finding should prompt health providers to be even more careful with the use of antibiotics, which may pave the way for the dramatic increase.

One Year Later: What Have We Learned from H1N1?

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:24:00 GMT

It's been nearly a year since H1N1 arrived in the U.S. How has the healthcare system responded and is the nation any more prepared for a larger health crisis?

Senate Committee Requests Investigation of Long-Term Care Hospitals

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:19:00 GMT

A Senate panel is looking into allegations that some Medicare beneficiaries receiving care in long-term care hospitals "are being exposed to an unreasonable risk of harm."

CMS Drops Fox Insurance from Medicare Part D

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:12:00 GMT

Saying the health insurer was jeopardizing "the health and safety" of Medicare Part D enrollees, CMS terminated its contract with Fox Insurance Company on Tuesday.

New tool lets patients call the shots at end of their lives

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:59:00 GMT

A new kind of medical document allows patients to tell their family and doctors exactly what kind of care they want at the end of life. The directive is slowly being adopted at hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices as part of a groundswell within the medical community to give terminally ill patients more control over how and where they die, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Experts say the document—Provider Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment, or POLST—and the careful decisionmaking that precedes it lift a terrible emotional burden from patients' families, reports the Tribune.

Healthcare's obstacle: No will to cut

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:16:00 GMT

In this commentary published by the New York Times, David Leonhardt writes that for anyone who cares about medical costs, President Obama's health reform plan is a "terribly mixed bag." He says that the plan "does so much less than the ideal plan would do. It would not come close to eliminating Medicare's long-term budget deficit." However, he adds that the plan would make progress many other areas, such as creating more competition for insurance companies, increasing authority over reimbursement rates, and quality control.

With warning, a hip device is withdrawn

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:12:00 GMT

Just months after saying it was phasing out an artificial hip implant because of slowing sales, a unit of Johnson & Johnson has warned doctors that the device appears to have a high early failure rate in some patients.

Joint Commission Working on Breast Cancer Care Quality Measures

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:42:00 GMT

The Joint Commission's Division of Quality Measurement and Research has been contracted to complete a portion of a project to develop quality measures to assess and improve care for breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in an ambulatory setting, according to an official announcement from the accrediting organization.

Study Links High Hospital Occupancy to Higher Death Risk

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:21:00 GMT

A new study found that patients admitted to full or near-full hospitals increased their risk of dying by 5.6%. University of Michigan Health System researchers also found that having more nurses made patients safer, but weekend admission and admission during seasonal flu increased the risk of death.

Senate panel to investigate deaths at long-term care facilities

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:07:00 GMT

The Senate Finance Committee has opened an investigation into patient deaths and allegations of substandard treatment at long-term care hospitals. The investigation focuses on the Select Medical Corporation, a for-profit corporation that runs 89 long-term care hospitals, more than any other company. In a letter sent to Select’s chief executive, Robert Ortenzio, the committee's top two senators demanded that Select provide records about staffing levels and quality at its hospitals, the New York Times reports.

Group appointments give patients better access to physicians

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:13:00 GMT

Caring for multiple patients simultaneously has gotten a new boost as the nation urgently searches for sustainable models of healthcare, the Washington Post reports. The group visit was cited as one of 10 trends to take seriously by the Future of Family Medicine Project, a national effort headed by the American Academy of Family Physicians looking for ways to improve the delivery of healthcare for both patients and their doctors.

Physicians Worried Proposed Meaningful Use Will Decrease Productivity

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:30:00 GMT

An overwhelming number of physicians say changes that may be necessary to meet more than two dozen "meaningful use" criteria proposed in a Medicare electronic health record incentive rule would lead to decreased provider productivity, according to the Medical Group Management Association.

Medicare program cites Mass. General for serious problems

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:09:00 GMT

The federal Medicare program has cited Massachusetts General Hospital for serious problems found during a routine inspection last month, according to a letter sent to the hospital's president. The letter does not describe the violations found by inspectors, but an agency official said the most serious involved the January death of a patient whose heart monitor alarm had been inadvertently turned off. The government sent the hospital a detailed report, but that report does not become public until later this month, after Mass. General has submitted a plan to correct the problems, which it must do by March 15.