Qual Manag Health Care - A Mathematical Theory for Identifying and Measuring Severity of Episodes of Care

Alemi, Farrokh; Walters, Samuel R.
Quality Management in Health Care. 15(2):72-82, April/June 2006.
Abstract HTML PDF (95 K)

Milbank Quarterly - Stories from the Sharp End

Case Studies in Safety Improvement
D. McCarthy and D. Blumenthal
Milbank Quarterly, March 2006 84(1):165–200
abstract full text pdf

JAMA - Association Between Hospital Process Performance and Outcomes Among Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes

Eric D. Peterson; Matthew T. Roe; Jyotsna Mulgund; Elizabeth R. DeLong; Barbara L. Lytle; Ralph G. Brindis; Sidney C. Smith Jr; Charles V. Pollack Jr; L. Kristin Newby; Robert A. Harrington; W. Brian Gibler; E. Magnus Ohman
JAMA. 2006;295:1912-1920.

ABSTRACT FULL TEXT PDF

NICE - new website

www.nice.org.uk

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has re-launched its website.

Following on from the merger between NICE and the Health Development Agency, the new site integrates clinical and public health content on one site.

NICE produces guidance in three areas of health:

• public health
• health technologies
• clinical practice

Key features of the site include:

• An improved “guidance search” facility
• The ability to search for NICE guidance by type and topic

How States Are Working with Physicians to Improve the Quality of Children's Health Care

H. Pelletier
National Academy for State Health Policy and The Commonwealth Fund
April 2006

summary

full report (pdf)

AHRQ – Prevention Quality Indicators (PQI) Composite Measure Workgroup

Final Report - April 7, 2006

This report summarizes the work of the PQI Composite Measure Workgroup, which was convened to assist Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in developing a composite measure based on the Prevention Quality Indicators for use in the National Healthcare Quality Report and National Healthcare Disparities Report.

The intended use of the PQI composite is to provide national estimates that can be tracked over time, and to provide state estimates than can be compared with the national estimate and to each other.

Measuring the quality of cancer care

Outcomes research at the National Cancer Institute: Measuring, understanding and improving the outcomes of cancer care.
Lipscomb J, Davidson M
Clin Ther 25:699-712, 2003
Abstract Abstract + References PDF (875 K)


A process for measuring the quality of cancer care: The Quality Oncology Practice Initiative.
Neuss MN, Desch CE, McNiff KK, et al
J Clin Oncol 23:6233-6239, 2005
[Abstract/Free Full Text]


Medicare demonstration projects acknowledge evidence-based medicine in cancer care.
Twombly R
J Natl Cancer Inst 97:6-7, 2005
[Free Full Text]


Developing a system to assess the quality of cancer care: ASCO's national initiative on cancer care quality.
Schneider EC, Epstein AM, Malin JL, et al
J Clin Oncol 22:2985-2991, 2004
[Free Full Text]

JAMA - Will Physician-Level Measures of Clinical Performance Be Used in Medical Malpractice Litigation?

Aaron S. Kesselheim; Timothy G. Ferris; David M. Studdert
JAMA. 2006;295:1831-1834.
EXTRACT FULL TEXT PDF

AHRQ - Costs and Benefits of Health Information Technology

The report from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is a synthesis of studies that have examined the quality impact of health IT as well as the costs and organizational changes needed to implement health IT systems.
report pdf

press release

An article summarizing the report is available on Annals of Internal Medicine

Physician Exec - Special Report: Patient Trust and Safety

Full disclosure and apology—an idea whose time has come.
Leape LL.
Physician Exec. 2006 Mar-Apr;32:16-18.
Free full text (PDF)

Who’s sorry now?
Weber DO.
Physician Exec. 2006 Mar-Apr;32:6,11-14.
Free full text (PDF)

J Nurs Care Qual - A Nurse-driven System for Improving Patient Quality Outcomes

Kathie Johnson; David Hallsey; Rita L. Meredith; Elizabeth Warden
Journal of Nursing Care Quality. 21(2):168-175, April/June 2006.
Abstract HTML PDF (112 K)

Ann Intern Med - Computerization can create safety hazards

a bar-coding near miss
McDonald CJ.
Ann Intern Med. 2006 Apr 4;144(7):510-6.
Abstract Full Text PDF

HealthcarePapers - Performance Reports

HealthcarePapers Vol. 6 No. 2 2005

Editorial
Notes from the Editor-in-Chief
Peggy Leatt

Invited Essay
Making Performance Reports Work
Adalsteinn D. Brown, Hamida Bhimani and Hugh MacLeod

Commentary
Back to Basics on Report Cards
Albert J. Schumacher

Extreme Makeover: Can We Achieve Rapid Improvement in Canada's Healthcare System?
Nandita Chaudhuri, Bonnie Brossart, Steven Lewis, Gill White

Why Performance Indicators Have a Place in Health Policy
Terri Jackson

Target and Tailor the Data
Brian T. Collopy

Making Performance Reports Work: It's a Matter of Common Sense
Bruce A. Boissonnault

Performance Reporting: Alignment with Accreditation
Wendy Nicklin, Paula Greco, Christopher Dean

Public Reporting Makes Accountability Possible
Robert Y. McMurtry

About Context and Systems
Niek Klazinga

The Authors Respond
The Importance of Context and Attention
Adalsteinn D. Brown, Hamida Bhimani, and Hugh MacLeod

Health Affairs - Nurse Staffing in Hosptials

Is there a Business Case for Quality?
J. Needleman et al.
Health Affairs, Jan./Feb. 2006 25(1):204–11.
html Reprint (PDF) Technical Appendix

Premier - Culture : Patient Safety

www.premierinc.com/all/safety/culture/


The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in partnership with Premier Inc., the Department of Defense and the American Hospital Association announced a new survey tool to assess the safety culture of a hospital as a whole, or specific units within hospitals, as well as to track changes in patient safety over time and evaluate the impact of patient safety interventions.
Many other resources are available at the web site to assess organizational safety culture.

J Biomed Inform - Using software agents to preserve individual health data confidentiality in micro-scale geographical analyses

Maged N. Kamel Boulos, Qiang Cai, Julian A. Padget and Gerard Rushton
Journal of Biomedical Informatics, Volume 39, Issue 2, April 2006, Pages 160-170
Abstract Full Text + Links PDF (464 K)

JAMIA - A Context-sensitive Approach to Anonymizing Spatial Surveillance Data

Impact on Outbreak Detection
Cassa CA, Grannis SJ, Overhage JM, Mandl KD.
Journal of Nursing Care Quality. 21(2):168-175, April/June 2006.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Arch Intern Med - Role of pharmacist counseling in preventing adverse drug events after hospitalization

Schnipper JL, Kirwin JL, Cotugno MC, et al.
Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:565-571.
pubmed

Nursing - Preventing adverse drug events

Manno MS.
Nursing. 2006 Mar;36:56-61.
Abstract HTML PDF (926 K)

Harvard Hospitals - When Things Go Wrong

Responding to Adverse Events
A Consensus Statement of the Harvard Hospitals. Burlington: Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors; 2006.

This consensus statement of the Harvard-affiliated hospitals examines the potential benefits and risks of an institutional response quite different from what most hospitals choose today.
It focuses on rapid and open disclosure and emotional support to patients and families who experience serious incidents.
It also addresses ways to support and educate clinicians involved in such incidents and outlines the administrative components of a comprehensive institutional policy.

Free full text (PDF)