By Jay Kumar Hospitals are seeing improvements in patient experience and a decrease in preventable healthcare-associated infections (HAI), according to The Leapfrog Group’s spring 2024 Hospital Safety Grades. The report assigns letter grades to nearly 3,000 general hospitals on how well they prevent medical errors, accidents, and infections, and compares them to the fall 2023 Safety Grades. “We have some good news finally on patient safety, which is that hospitals are improving on infection rates and they are improving on patient experience,” says Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog ..read more

By Matt Phillion ECRI recently revealed its Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns 2024 Special Report, an annual guide bringing attention to pressing patient safety concerns facing the healthcare industry. The number one concern identified by the report is clinicians’ transition from education to practice. While employment prospects are strong—96% of new nurses find work, compared to 53% of new graduates in other fields—there is growing concern about how new clinicians transition from a learning environment to the bedside. Without the right kind of preparation, support, and training, clinicians can r ..read more

By Christopher Cheney For 2024, a top priority for the chief clinical officer of Yale New Haven Health is improving patient safety and care quality. Thomas Balcezak, MD, MPH, has served as chief clinical officer of the health system since 2020. He previously held several positions at Yale New Haven Hospital, including chief medical officer, chief quality officer, director of performance management, and medical chief resident. This year, Balcezak is focused on re-evaluating and retooling patient safety and care quality programs. Yale New Haven Health is doubling down on efforts to be a high-rel ..read more

By Amy Hester, PhD, RN, BC, FAAN Patient safety stands as a paramount concern within healthcare, signifying both a fundamental patient right and a critical measure of healthcare quality. Fall prevention, as a central pillar of patient safety efforts, addresses one of the most prevalent and preventable sources of harm in healthcare environments. The imperative for adopting evidence-based fall prevention strategies aligns with broader patient safety solutions, aiming to secure a safer healthcare journey for all, especially the elderly and those at increased risk of falls. Understanding the impac ..read more

By Christopher Cheney For chief medical officers seeking to boost maternal care, a top priority should be care coordination between the inpatient and outpatient settings, the CMO of Ob Hospitalist Group says. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among high-income countries, according to statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. U.S. maternal mortality rates have been rising, with the rate pegged at 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021, compared with a rate of 23.8 in ..read more

By Matt Phillion With maternal death rates at the highest among the world’s wealthiest nations, the U.S. is facing a maternal and infant health crisis. The maternal mortality rate doubled between 1999 and 2019, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. A new report, “A Troubling Reality, a Hopeful Future,” from maternity and NICU care management organization ProgenyHealth, LLC, identifies key trends and insights into this crisis. The report looks at critical areas within maternal and infant health that hospitals ..read more

By Matt Phillion With notable measles outbreaks occurring in different regions in the U.S., the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) is raising awareness about what health systems can do to prevent infections. Early recognition, isolation of suspected and confirmed cases, the use of PPE, ventilation controls, and more are essential to limiting outbreaks and infections. There’s also a growing discussion on what healthcare workers can do, including MMR vaccination, to keep themselves and their patients safe. “We’re coming at this through the lens of healthcare to make sure we do ..read more

By Jay Kumar Patient Safety Awareness Week (PSAW) is coming to a close, but the focus on patient safety and healthcare quality will continue on as always. Thanks to all the dedicated professionals who work in healthcare organizations to provide top-notch care. We highlighted some of these efforts this week and will continue to do so. Thanks to our partners this week for their support: Avtec, IAC, and Origami Risk. In Friday’s issue of Patient Safety & Quality Insider, we’re recapping the content we ran this week for PSAW. That includes: Monday, March 11 Patient Safety Awareness Week Specia ..read more

By Jay Kumar As part of PSQH’s celebration of Patient Safety Awareness Week, we decided to reach out to our readers with a few questions to find out the state of patient safety efforts in 2024. This PSQH Quick Poll is presented in partnership with Origami Risk, Avtec, and IAC. The survey had a total of 285 respondents. Strengthening Nursing’s Role in Quality and Patient Safety Asked about how their organizations can help strengthen nursing’s role in quality and patient safety efforts, 75% of respondents said more education and training is needed. In addition, 71.8% said mentoring from leadersh ..read more

By Avtec When a large hospital organization in the Southeast gathered doctors, nurses, first responders, state police and the National Guard to run mass casualty drills, things did not go as planned. The biggest issue: communication. The military helicopters used different radio systems from first responders and police and the hospital staff used pagers. After attempting to communicate on different frequencies, the team switched to cell phones. “In that noisy and dynamic environment, it was a sub-optimal solution,” says Dan O’Brien, Avtec, North America Business Manager for Motorola. “Having a ..read more