Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Ask the Expert January 2009: Maureen Bisognano bio

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:12:33 GMT

Ask the Expert, January 2009: Maureen Bisognano.

Ask the Expert: January 6, 2009

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:16:00 GMT

How do you improve care when you don't have a computer -- or electricity to power it?

IHI Certification and Continuing Education

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:11:31 GMT

Information about IHI Certification and continuing education credits through the IHI Open School for Health Professions.

The Unfortunate Admission

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:39:00 GMT

A young woman's lupus flares up, along with a complicating infection. Her providers struggle to coordinate care as her condition deteriorates.

Ask the Expert: December 24 2008

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:54:42 GMT

Each month the IHI Open School puts health care improvement experts on the hot seat and makes them answer your questions.

21st Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:28:23 GMT

The National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care is the premier "meeting place" for people committed to the mission of improving health care. This annual event draws over 6,500 health care leaders from around the world in person and thousands more via satellite broadcast.

The Essential Guide for Patient Safety Officers

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:23:56 GMT

This book is geared to help patient safety leaders create a culture of safety; plan, oversee, and implement new safety practices and improve safety-related management and operations. The material is applicable to community hospitals, teaching hospitals, health care systems, rural/critical access hospitals, and ambulatory care settings. Best practices, strategies, and tips are provided, including chapter-length case studies from nationally recognized health care organizations.

Reducing Healthcare-Associated MRSA Infections on a Surgical Unit

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:30:54 GMT

St. John's Regional Health Center (Springfield, Missouri, USA) reduced hospital-acquired infections through their work in an IHI Learning and Innovation Community.

Medication reconciliation in a community, nonteaching hospital

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:33:44 GMT

This article describes the development and implementation of a medication reconciliation program at a 250-bed community hospital. The program involved the adoption of facility-wide policies and procedures, including the use of standardized medication reconciliation forms, staff education, and monthly audits to gauge progress. Strengths, weaknesses, and prospects for future expansion of the program are discussed.

Education and Training Curriculum on Medication Reconciliation

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:21:00 GMT

This web-based resource contains information on effective strategies for training all staff involved in the medication reconciliation process, and also includes support materials and tools; developed by Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago, Illinois, USA).

The emotional impact of medical error involvement on physicians: A call for leadership and organizational accountability

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:52:40 GMT

The evidence indicates that many physicians involved in medical errors respond with serious emotional distress that may also lead to future suboptimal patient care and error. The authors suggest that, given the significant burden on physician well-being and performance associated with medical errors, health care institutions and clinical leaders have to take accountability andneed to provide staff with formal and informal systems of support.

Anticoagulation Resource Center

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:13:00 GMT

Developed by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the Anticoagulation Resource Center website provides materials for pharmacists to help improve the safety of anticoagulation patient management. The website includes guidelines, policies, articles, presentations, and other resources.

My Health Care Options

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:25:00 GMT

This consumer website, a resource provided by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council, provides comparative cost and quality information about medical procedures performed at Massachusetts hospitals and outpatient facilities. The goal of the website is to improve health care quality through transparency and comparative quality information.

Ask the Expert: December 11, 2008

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:13:00 GMT

Each month the IHI Open School puts health care improvement experts on the hot seat and makes them answer your questions.

Improvement Map

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:40:19 GMT

The Improvement Map will help you make sense of the many complex and competing demands you face by offering easy-to-follow guidance through an often confusing landscape.

Trigger Tool for Measuring Adverse Drug Events in a Mental Health Setting

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:14:00 GMT

This Trigger Tool, developed for use with mental health inpatients, includes a list of known adverse drug event triggers in mental health settings and provides instructions for conducting a retrospective review of patient records using these triggers to identify possible ADEs; developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA).

Medication reconciliation in a rural trauma population

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:05:37 GMT

This study assessed the accuracy of medication histories documented on admission for patients admitted to a rural Level 1 trauma center. Results showed that almost all of the initial medication histories were inaccurate as compared against the pharmacist-obtained lists and that multiple factors contributed to medication history errors. The authors discuss these results and comment on aspects of the trauma setting that may pose particular challenges to accurate medication reconciliation.

In focus: Promoting quality throughout Indian country

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:42:01 GMT

Through its Innovations in Planned Care Collaborative, the Indian Health Service has been improving care for chronic disease for American Indians and Alaska Natives. This system-wide project has begun evaluating patients' experiences and the costs of the care, as well as measuring providers' ability to meet the standards of care for managing and preventing various chronic diseases.

The new "rapid responder"

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:39:52 GMT

As members of the Rapid Response Team, pharmacists set appropriate dosing levels, make medications available, and determine if medications contributed to patient deterioration. This article explores an emerging model being tested by hospitals participating in IHI's 5 Million Lives Campaign.

Improving Care in Rural Rwanda (Part 1)

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:41:00 GMT

When Lee and teammate Meera Kotagal began their quality improvement work in Kirehe, Rwanda, last year, the staff at the local hospital was taking vital signs properly less than half the time. Today, the staff does that task properly 95% of the time. Substantial resource and infrastructure inputs, combined with dedicated Rwandan partners and simple quality improvement tools, have dramatically improved staff morale and the quality of care in Kirehe.

Navigating the maze

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:49:23 GMT

Patient navigators can help patients better understand their treatment options and get better quality care. IHI’s Jim Conway says that not only do patient navigator programs improve patient care, they can also have a positive impact on the hospital's bottom line. For the full story, see the HealthLeaders Media website below.