American Journal of Medical Quality This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

No Evidence for Race and Socioeconomic Status as Independent Predictors of 30-Day Readmission Rates Following Orthopedic Surgery
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services considers readmissions within 30 days of discharge to be a quality indicator. Hospitals’ and eventually physicians’ readmission rates will be used to determine payment for services. It is imperative that health care providers understand which patients are at risk for readmission so that they can apply the appropriate preventive interventions. The research team analyzed all orthopedic admissions and readmissions at their institution from September 2008 to April 2011 in this study. Preparing for the next stage in health care reform, identifying any preoperative fac...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - August 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Hunter, T., Yoon, R. S., Hutzler, L., Band, P., Liublinksa, V., Slover, J., Bosco, J. A. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Educational Backgrounds and Quality of Training of Surgeons Performing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Procedures in the State of Florida in 2010
This article explores the relationship of physician training and certification and surgical outcomes of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting procedures in Florida during 2010. The data set includes 246 surgeons who, as a group, trained at nearly 48% of all thoracic surgery residency programs in the country. There were significant differences in board certifications for general surgery and thoracic surgery among physicians in different quality segmentations. Additionally, statistically significant differences were observed for mortality as a percentage of surgical volume as well as length of stay. These diffe...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - August 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Delisle, D. R., Campbell, C. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Development and Validation of the Johns Hopkins Disruptive Clinician Behavior Survey
Although the negative impact of disruptive clinician behavior on quality health care delivery has gained attention recently, little systematic effort to address this issue has been reported. To facilitate empirical research to reduce disruptive clinician behaviors, an assessment tool (Johns Hopkins Disruptive Clinician Behavior Survey [JH-DCBS]) with 5 discrete subscales was developed using a 2-step design. First a pool of items was generated from focus group studies and the literature, and then a psychometric evaluation of the survey was conducted with a sample of clinicians (N = 1198) practicing in a large urban academic...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - August 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Dang, D., Nyberg, D., Walrath, J. M., Kim, M. T. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Decomposing Differences in Medical Care Access Among Cancer Survivors by Race and Ethnicity
More research is needed to identify factors that explain why minority cancer survivors ages 18 to 64 are more likely to delay or forgo care when compared with whites. Data were merged from the 2000-2011 National Health Interview Survey to identify 12 125 adult survivors who delayed medical care. The Fairlie decomposition technique was applied to explore contributing factors that explain the differences. Compared with whites, Hispanics were more likely to delay care because of organizational barriers (odds ratio = 1.38; P < .05), and African Americans were more likely to delay medical care or treatment because of transpo...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - August 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: King, C. J., Chen, J., Dagher, R. K., Holt, C. L., Thomas, S. B. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

The Physician Quality Officer Model: 5-Year Follow-up
Physician engagement is a key element of health care quality improvement. Challenges include competing demands, inconsistent compensation, knowledge deficits, and lack of mentorship and role modeling. To help address these obstacles, UMass Memorial Medical Center developed a physician quality officer (PQO) program in 2007. Since its inception, several elements of the program have changed, including PQO roles in projects, approaches to training, logistics of group communication, the role of PQOs in medical staff education, and the PQO compensation model. (Source: American Journal of Medical Quality)
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - August 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Klugman, R., Gitkind, M. J., Walsh, K. E. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Continuous Practice Quality Improvement Initiative for Communication of Critical Findings in Neuroradiology
The authors examined faculty’s compliance with a hospital-approved neuroradiology critical findings (CFs) policy, which requires urgent verbal communication with the clinical team when 17 specific critical pathologies are identified. During June 2011 to July 2013, 50 random neuroradiology reports were sampled monthly for the presence of CFs and appropriate action. Faculty were provided ongoing feedback, and at the end of 2 years, the medical records for cases with noncommunicated CFs were reviewed to identify potential adverse outcomes. Of the 1200 reviewed reports, 195 (16.3%) had and 1005 (83.8%) did not have a CF....
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - August 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Babiarz, L. S., Lewin, J. S., Yousem, D. M. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Predictors of 30-Day Hospital Readmission Following Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Stroke
Stroke patients have a high rate of 30-day readmission. Understanding the characteristics of patients at high risk of readmission is critical. A retrospective case-control study was designed to determine factors associated with 30-day readmission after stroke. A total of 79 cases with acute ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes readmitted to the same hospital within 30 days were compared with 86 frequency-matched controls. Readmitted patients were more likely to have had ≥2 hospitalizations in the year prior to stroke (21.5% vs 2.3% in controls, P < .001), and in the multivariate model, admission National Institutes of Hea...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - August 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Strowd, R. E., Wise, S. M., Umesi, U. N., Bishop, L., Craig, J., Lefkowitz, D., Reynolds, P. S., Tegeler, C., Arnan, M., Duncan, P. W., Bushnell, C. D. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Organizational Characteristics and Patient Experiences With Hospital Care: A Survey Study of Hospital Chief Patient Experience Officers
In this study, chief patient experience officers at 416 VHA hospitals were surveyed to assess the relationship between organizational characteristics and publicly reported HCAHPS scores. Of 416 institutions, 143 (34.4%) participated. Respondents reported that boards (68%) and chief executive officers (81%) viewed the patient experience as extremely important. In contrast, they reported that in only 15% and 34% of hospitals, respectively, physicians and nurses were supportive of efforts to improve the patient experience. Hospitals with collaborative cultures and higher physician engagement had higher VBP total HCAHPS scores...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - August 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Manary, M., Staelin, R., Kosel, K., Schulman, K. A., Glickman, S. W. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Continuous Quality Improvement Program for Hip and Knee Replacement
Improving quality of care and maximizing efficiency are priorities in hip and knee replacement, where surgical demand and costs increase as the population ages. The authors describe the integrated structure and processes from the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Program for Hip and Knee Replacement Surgical Care and summarize lessons learned from implementation. The Triple Aim framework and 6 dimensions of quality care are overarching constructs of the CQI program. A validated, evidence-based clinical pathway that measures quality across the continuum of care was adopted. Working collaboratively, multidisciplinary expe...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - August 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Marshall, D. A., Christiansen, T., Smith, C., Squire Howden, J., Werle, J., Faris, P., Frank, C. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

State-Mandated Reporting of Health Care-Associated Infections in the United States: Trends Over Time
Over the past decade, most US states and territories began mandating that acute care hospitals report health care–associated infections (HAIs) to their departments of health. Trends in state HAI law enactment and data submission requirements were determined through systematic legal review; state HAI coordinators were contacted to confirm collected data. As of January 31, 2013, 37 US states and territories (71%) had adopted laws requiring HAI data submission, most of which were enacted and became effective in 2006 and 2007. Most states with HAI laws required reporting of central line–associated bloodstream infec...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - August 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Herzig, C. T. A., Reagan, J., Pogorzelska-Maziarz, M., Srinath, D., Stone, P. W. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Implementation of Unit-Based Interventions to Improve Teamwork and Patient Safety on a Medical Service
In a prior study involving 2 medical units, Structured Interdisciplinary Rounds (SIDRs) improved teamwork and reduced adverse events (AEs). SIDR was implemented on 5 additional units, and a pre- versus postintervention comparison was performed. SIDR combined a structured format for communication with daily interprofessional meetings. Teamwork was assessed using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (score range = 0-100), and AEs were identified using queries of information systems confirmed by 2 physician researchers. Paired analyses for 82 professionals completing surveys both pre and post implementation revealed improved te...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - August 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: O'Leary, K. J., Creden, A. J., Slade, M. E., Landler, M. P., Kulkarni, N., Lee, J., Vozenilek, J. A., Pfeifer, P., Eller, S., Wayne, D. B., Williams, M. V. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

AJMQ Newsletter: An Update From the Leadership of the American College of Medical Quality
(Source: American Journal of Medical Quality)
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - July 7, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Varkey, P., Lyles, M. Tags: AJMQ Newsletter Source Type: research

Improvement in Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection in Surgery Patients: Results of a Quality Improvement Program
(Source: American Journal of Medical Quality)
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - July 7, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Maasher, A., Al Balooshi, I., McKenna, K., Dehni, N., Nimeri, A. Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research

Assessing the Utility of Intraoperative Educational Time-Outs in the Promotion of Medical Student Knowledge
(Source: American Journal of Medical Quality)
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - July 7, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Feroze, A. H., Walmsley, G. G. Tags: Q-Tip Source Type: research

Can Medical Students Identify Problems in Patient Safety?
(Source: American Journal of Medical Quality)
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - July 7, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Doering, A., Stueven, J., Kalishman, S., Wayne, S., Sklar, D. Tags: Commentaries Source Type: research