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February 2009
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Results of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist Pilot Study Published
The Safe Surgery Saves Lives campaign recently announced the results of the WHO [World Health Organization] Surgical Safety Checklist Pilot Study, which were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine (NEMJ). The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist reduced the rate of deaths and complications by more than one third in eight pilot hospitals (located in Toronto, Canada; New Delhi, India; Amman, Jordan; Auckland, New Zealand; Manila, Philippines; Ifakara, Tanzania; London, UK; Seattle, USA). After implementation of the checklist, the rate of major inpatient complications dropped from 11% to 7%, and the inpatient death rate following major operations fell from 1.5% to 0.8%. The effect was of similar magnitude in high-, low-, and middle-income country sites. The full text of the paper is available free of charge as an Online First publication and appeared in print in the January 29, 2009, issue of NEMJ. To learn more about the Safe Surgery Saves Lives campaign please visit www.safesurg.org or www.who.int/safesurgery.
| Serving as a representative of NAHQ, David Loose, MSN RN CNAA CPHQ, chair of the Healthcare Quality Certification Board, attended the “Safe Surgery Saves Lives” International Consultation meeting of WHO in early 2008 in Geneva, Switzerland. NAHQ was one of more than 100 international surgical, anesthesia, and nursing organizations that met to discuss safe surgery guidelines. In related news, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services officially released three rules that halt Medicare payments when medical procedures are performed incorrectly or on the wrong body part. Click here to read more. |
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New NQF Issue Brief Examines Investing in Value
A new National Quality Forum (NQF) Issue Brief, Investing in Healthcare Value, explores the necessity of shifting the focus of the healthcare system from volume to value. The issue brief sketches out the growing evidence that investment in quality leads to good financial returns, explores the growing investor interest in the demonstrated quality of healthcare providers, and examines the steps that will be necessary to shift the system’s focus from volume to value. Access a PDF version of this December 2008 issue brief here.
IHI’s New Improvement Map
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Building on the success of the 100,000 Lives and 5 Million Lives campaigns, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) reports that its Improvement Map will help hospital leaders make sense of an increasingly complex and confusing healthcare landscape. To help hospitals better understand requirements and focus on changes to healthcare, the Improvement Map will cover the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist, prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and quality and financial management. Click here to read more about the Improvement Map. |
IHI also introduced a new Web-based program that teaches organizations how to use the IHI Global Trigger Tool to help them measure instances of harm often missed when traditional methods of reporting and tracking errors are used. The Web&ACTION program “Using the Global Trigger Tool for Measuring Patient Safety” is designed for teams of reviewers who will use the IHI Global Trigger Tool to identify patient harm and use the results gleaned from the tool to measure the effectiveness of safety improvements. For more information, click here.
Patient Satisfaction Data Posted on Quality Check Web Site
People seeking information about how patients perceive the care they received at a particular hospital can now find this information on the Joint Commission’s Quality Check Web site, www.qualitycheck.org. The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Hospital Compare Web site is now posted on Quality Check. The information will be updated quarterly.
HCAHPS information comes from patient ratings of communication with doctors, communication with nurses, the responsiveness of hospital staff, the cleanliness and quietness of the hospital, pain management, communication about medications, and discharge information. In addition to information about patient satisfaction, Quality Check also includes data from CMS on 30-day mortality rates for heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia.
Commonwealth Fund President: Insurance Reform Should Be Tied to Healthcare Reform
“As the nation turns to the issue of reforming our health insurance system, it is important to address simultaneously how we organize and deliver health services—to ensure that we are obtaining the best possible health outcomes for Americans and the most value for the money we spend on health care,” Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis told the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) at a hearing in January.
| Davis said that “the nation will not have the health system it wants if the federal government does not lead and implement a series of coordinated strategies to close the quality chasm,” including extending health insurance to all; aligning financial incentives to reward the outcomes we want to achieve; changing the organization and delivery of care to ensure that it is accessible, coordinated, and patient-centered; investing in the infrastructure and support necessary to reach attainable levels of quality and efficiency; and exercising the leadership and collaboration among all parts of the health system necessary to achieve health goals for the nation. Click here to read Davis’s full testimony. |
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Janet Corrigan, CEO and president of the National Quality Forum, also spoke to the HELP committee in mid-January. At the time, she testified that health information technology is essential to achieving the goals of higher quality and affordable care. Click here for a full text of Corrigan’s Senate testimony.
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