HCUP - Tool for Classifying Mental Health and Substance Abuse Diagnoses

Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) announced the availability of a new tool for researchers working in the fields of mental health and substance abuse.

The Clinical Classification Software for Mental Health and Substance Abuse (CCS-MHSA) assigns variables that identify mental health and substance abuse-related diagnoses in hospital discharge records using the diagnosis coding of ICD-9-CM (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition, Clinical Modification).

CCS-MHSA can be used with any data that include ICD-9-CM diagnosis information and can be adapted to work with the particular software a researcher is using.

This original software provides a method for classifying diagnoses or procedures into clinically meaningful categories that help to facilitate aggregate statistical reporting.

Like all HCUP tools and software, the CCS-MHSA is free and can be downloaded from the HCUP-US Website.

NEJM - Accidental Deaths, Saved Lives, and Improved Quality

T. A. Brennan, A. Gawande, E. Thomas, and D. Studdert
N Engl J Med 2005 353: 1405-1409
Extract Full Text PDF

NQF/CMWF - Improving Patient Safety Through Informed Consent for Patients with Limited Health Literacy

http://www.cmwf.org/General/General_show.htm?doc_id=296964

With Commonwealth Fund support, NQF has published a new report, Improving Patient Safety Through Informed Consent for Patients with Limited Health Literacy, that focuses on what has been learned from providers who adopted a method known as "teach back," which involves asking patients to recount information to demonstrate their level of understanding.
The report, is now available online on the NQF Web site.

Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf - Advising Patients About Patient Safety

Current Initiatives Risk Shifting Responsibility
V. A. Entwistle, M. M. Mello, and T. A. Brennan
Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety 31 (September 2005): 483–94.
[download] full text

AHRQ - Guide to Health Care Quality: How To Know It When You See It

http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/guidetoq/

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released a new publication, Guide to Health Care Quality: How To Know It When You See It, to help consumers identify high-quality health care. This booklet is part of AHRQ's new consumer education campaign to help people take a more active role in their own health care.

The Guide to Health Care Quality includes steps that consumers can take to improve their quality of care. It explains the difference between clinical measures and consumer ratings.

Print Document (PDF)
Press Release

NPSA - Medical error

The NPSA, the Medical Defence Union and Medical Protection Society


A compendium of case studies citing senior doctors giving examples of mistakes they have made and what they learnt from them.

The handbook provides practical advice on how to reduce risk, and highlights the importance of reporting and the need to change systems to protect doctors from error.

Medical error part 1

• A message from the Chief Medical Officer
• Speaking up for safety - the work of the NPSA with junior doctors and other healthcare providers
• My mistake - 14 personal accounts of mistakes made by the nation's leading doctors

Medical error part 2

• Case studies - 6 accounts of medical error followed by expert advice
• Reporting your mistakes - advice on reporting errors

Medical error was produced as part of Engaging clinicians - A resource pack to help promote patient safety and the reporting of incidents amongst clinicians-in-training.

AHRQ - Podcast on Understanding Health Care Quality

This audio podcast features Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Director Dr. Carolyn Clancy answering questions about health care quality.


In the podcast, Dr. Clancy discusses preventive care, medical errors, and what people can do to make sure they get quality health care.

AHRQ Audio Podcast

Int J Qual Health Care - Improving the evidence base for promoting quality and equity of surgical care

using population-based linkage of administrative health records
Sonja E. Hall, C. D’Arcy, J. Holman, Judith Finn, and James B. Semmens
Int J Qual Health Care 2005 17: 415-420
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

BMJ - Developing clinical guidelines

a challenge to current methods
Rosalind Raine, Colin Sanderson, Nick Black
BMJ 2005:631-633
[Extract] [Full text] [PDF]

J Gen Intern Med - What can hospitalized patients tell us about adverse events?

Learning from patient-reported incidents.
Weingart SN, Pagovich O, Sands DZ, Li JM, Aronson MD, Davis RB, Bates DW, Phillips RS.
J Gen Intern Med. 2005 Sep;20(9):830-6.
Abstract PDF

WHO - Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety Solutions

newsalert

Recognizing that health care errors seriously harm one in every 10 patients around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) is designating the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and Joint Commission International (JCI) as the world’s first WHO Collaborating Centre dedicated solely to patient safety.

WHO - patient safety
WHO - World Alliance for Patient Safety

Lancet - Patient safety alliance to tackle hand washing worldwide

Bristol N
The Lancet 2005; 366:973-974
Full Text

Medical Care - Hospital Variation in Mortality After First Acute Myocardial Infarction in Denmark From 1995 to 2002

Lower Short-Term and 1-Year Mortality in High-Volume and Specialized Hospitals.
Søren Rasmussen, Ann-Dorthe O. Zwisler, Steen Z. Abildstrom, Jan K. Madsen, Mette Madsen
Medical Care. 43(10):970-978, October 2005.

Abstract HTML PDF (561 K)

Medical Care - Indiana Chronic Disease Management Program Risk Stratification Analysis

Jingjin Li, Ann M. Holmes, Marc B. Rosenman, Barry P. Katz, Stephen M. Downs, Michael D. Murray, Ronald T. Ackermann, Thomas S. Inui
Medical Care. 43(10):979-984, October 2005.
Abstract HTML PDF (221 K)

Health Affairs - Health Information Technology

September/October 2005 - Volume 24, Number 5
http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/vol24/issue5/

The new issue of Health Affairs focuses entirely on health information technology, including studies on electronic health records and other health IT efforts

Ann Intern Med - Quality of Care Is Associated with Survival in Vulnerable Older Patients

Higashi T, Shekelle PG, Adams JL, Kamberg CJ, Roth CP, Solomon DH, Reuben DB, Chiang L, MacLean CH, Chang JT, Young RT, Saliba DM, Wenger NS.
Ann Intern Med. 2005 Aug 16;143(4):274-81
Abstract Full Text PDF Summary for Patients Appendix Table

Editorial
Improving Patient Care Can Set Your Brain on Fire
Williams SV.
Ann Intern Med. 2005 Aug 16;143(4):305-6
Full Text PDF

Delmarva/JCAHO - The state of the art of online hospital public reporting

Delmarva Foundation and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations published the results of a one year study that analyzed the effectiveness and constitution of more than 50 publicly available and subscription based online hospital performance websites.

The study found that an increasing number of consumers utilize online hospital performance websites to make health care decisions.

Press Release
download full report (3.45 MB)

J Health Polit Policy Law - The who, what, and why of risk adjustment

a technology on the cusp of adoption
Blumenthal D, Weissman JS, Wachterman M, Weil E, Stafford RS, Perrin JM, Ferris TG, Kuhlthau K, Kaushal R, Iezzoni LI.
J Health Polit Policy Law. 2005 Jun;30(3):453-73.
Entrez PubMed

Med Care Res Rev - An empirical assessment of high-performing medical groups

results from a national study
Shortell SM, Schmittdiel J, Wang MC, Li R, Gillies RR, Casalino LP, Bodenheimer T, Rundall TG.
Med Care Res Rev. 2005 Aug;62(4):407-34.
[Abstract] [PDF]

AHRQ - Quality Indicators Windows Application

www.qualityindicators.ahrq.gov/winqi_download.htm

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Quality Indicators Windows Application is a tool to assist quality improvement efforts in acute care hospital settings.

Using hospital discharge data from your organization, the application facilitates the review of individual cases flagged by the AHRQ Quality Indicators and calculates basic rates for comparison with peers.

The single application includes all of the AHRQ QI modules: Prevention Quality Indicators, Patient Safety Indicators, and Inpatient Quality Indicators.

The AHRQ Quality Indicators Windows Application is intended as a tool for individual hospitals that do not have access to the statistical software packages required by the currently available SAS and SPSS syntax.

The AHRQ QI Windows Application Version 1.0 requires Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows XP, with the Microsoft.NET platform and an available Microsoft SQL Server database. A public-use version of Microsoft .NET and the SQL Server database are included with the software.

APAC - Guiding Principles to Achieve Continuity in Medication Management

Australian Pharmaceutical Advisory Council
July 2005

Evidence from research into medication safety indicates that significant patient harm and sub-optimal use of medicines frequently result from the discontinuity that occurs when consumers move between different health care settings and health care providers. There is also good evidence that continuity in medication management can improve with a systems approach.

These Guiding Principles have been developed to address this problem by achieving the continuity of quality use of medicines in medication management as consumers move from one episode of health care to another.

Free full text (PDF)

CMAJ - Frequency, type and clinical importance of medication history errors at admission to hospital

a systematic review
Vincent C. Tam, Sandra R. Knowles, Patricia L. Cornish, Nowell Fine, Romina Marchesano, and Edward E. Etchells
CMAJ 2005 173: 510-515
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf - Using the AHRQ Quality Indicators to Improve Health Care Quality

Elixhauser A, Pancholi M, Clancy CM.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2005;31:533-538.
full text options

American College of Surgeons - Surgical M+M and Patient Safety

www.facs.org/education/surgical-m-and-m/index.html

The Division of Education of the American College of Surgeons has developed this online educational resource focusing on the Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) conference for today's practicing surgeon.

article of the month:

Morbidity and Mortality Conference: Both Ahead of its Time and Behind the Times
David W. Roberson, Ajit Sachdeva, Gerald B. Healy.

RAND - Evaluation of a Patient Safety Training Program

Christopher Nelson
This report evaluates a pilot fellowship program on patient safety. It evaluates the program curriculum’s design and content, program implementation, and training outcomes.

Full Document: PDF
Summary Only: PDF

Ann Intern Med - Electronic health records and the national health information network

The Costs of a National Health Information Network
Kaushal R, Blumenthal D, Poon EG, Jha AK, Franz C, Middleton B, Glaser J, Kuperman G, Christino M, Fernandopulle R, Newhouse JP, Bates DW; Cost of National Health Information Network Working Group.
Ann Intern Med. 2005 Aug 2;143(3):165-73
Abstract Full Text PDF


Perspectives
Electronic Health Records: Just around the Corner? Or over the Cliff?
Baron RJ, Fabens EL, Schiffman M, Wolf E.
Ann Intern Med. 2005 Aug 2;143(3):222-6
Abstract Full Text PDF


Editorial
Electronic health records and the national health information network: affordable, adoptable, and ready for prime time?
Basch P.
Ann Intern Med. 2005 Aug 2;143(3):227-8
Full Text PDF

Medical Care - Evaluating the Patient Safety Indicators

How Well Do They Perform on Veterans Health Administration Data?
Amy K. Rosen; Peter Rivard; Shibei Zhao; Susan Loveland; Dennis Tsilimingras; Cindy L. Christiansen; Anne Elixhauser; Patrick S. Romano
Medical Care. 43(9):873-884, September 2005

Abstract HTML PDF (413 K)

NEJM - Linking Compensation to Quality

Medicare Payments to Physicians
J. K. Iglehart
N Engl J Med. 2005 Sep 1;353(9):870-2.
Extract Full Text PDF

IOM - Building a Better Delivery System

A New Engineering/Health Care Partnership
www.iom.edu/report.asp?id=28393

This report from the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) provides a framework and action plan for a systems approach to health care delivery based on a partnership between engineers and health care professionals.

The report describes the opportunities and challenges to harnessing the power of systems-engineering tools, information technologies, and complementary knowledge in social sciences, cognitive sciences, and business/management to advance the six IOM quality aims (health care should be: safe, effective, timely, patient-centered, efficient, and equitable)

Summary

USA - Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?tab=main&bill=s109-544

The new law creates a new confidential “patient safety work product” that is to be used only for analysis and review to improve health outcomes.

Full Text: Text or PDF

The new law “Amends the Public Health Service Act to make patient safety work product privileged information.

• Defines "patient safety work product" as a record concerning patient information either reported to a patient safety organization by a health care provider (doctor, hospital, etc.) or created by a patient safety organization.
• Defines a "patient safety organization" as an organization, certified under this Act, that collects such information with the goal of improving patient safety and the quality of health care delivery.
• Prohibits patient safety work product: (1) from being subject to a civil or administrative subpoena or order; (2) from being required to be admitted as evidence in any State or Federal civil or administrative proceeding…”

(read complete summary from the American Association Of Clinical Endocrinologists)