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.

House Staff Perceptions of How Handoff Quality Influences Code Blue and Rapid Response Team Events
(Source: American Journal of Medical Quality)
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - April 28, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Miller, D., Mitchell, A., Sadun, R., Milne, J., Boggan, J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Use of a Transition of Care Coordinator to Improve Ambulatory Follow-up After Hospital Discharge
(Source: American Journal of Medical Quality)
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - April 28, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Rhoades, R., Dietsche, C., Jaffe, R., Reynolds, C., Latreille, M., Crawford, A., Ward, L. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

The "I" in I CARE: Out of the Ashes of Dystopia, a Phoenix Will Rise
(Source: American Journal of Medical Quality)
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - April 28, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Roman, M. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

The Relationship of Hospital Charges and Volume to Surgical Site Infection After Total Hip Replacement
The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of hospital volume and charges on the rate of surgical site infections for total hip replacements (THRs) in New York State (NYS). In NYS, higher volume hospitals have higher charges after THR. The study team analyzed 93 620 hip replacements performed in NYS between 2008 and 2011. Hospital charges increased significantly from $43 713 in 2008 to $50 652 in 2011 (P < .01). Compared with lower volume hospitals, patients who underwent THR at the highest volume hospitals had significantly lower surgical site infection rates (P = .003) and higher total hospital charges (P <...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - April 28, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Boas, R., Ensor, K., Qian, E., Hutzler, L., Slover, J., Bosco, J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Operative Volume in Colon Surgery: A Matched Cohort Analysis
Although previous studies have suggested that higher volumes of colectomies performed by surgeons and hospitals are associated with lower mortality, less is known about the relationship between volume and resource utilization. The research team tested the association between volume, costs, complications, length of stay, and mortality using data from the National Inpatient Sample. Results suggest higher volumes for both surgeons and hospitals were associated with lower costs, fewer complications, shorter length of stay, and lower mortality. Propensity score matching showed no significant difference in mortality by surgeon v...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - April 28, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Wilson, M. Z., Soybel, D. I., Hollenbeak, C. S. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

The Impact of Tort Reform and Quality Improvements on Medical Liability Claims: A Tale of 2 States
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of tort reform and quality improvement measures on medical liability claims in 2 groups of hospitals within the same multihospital organization: one in Texas, which implemented medical liability tort reform caps on noneconomic damages in 2003, and one in Louisiana, which did not undergo significant tort reform during the same time period. Significant reduction in medical liability claims per quarter in Texas was found after tort reform implementation (7.27 to 1.4; P < .05). A significant correlation was found between the increase in mean Centers for Medicare & Me...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - April 28, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Illingworth, K. D., Shaha, S. H., Tzeng, T. H., Sinha, M. S., Saleh, K. J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

NPITxt, a 21st-Century Reporting System: Engaging Residents in a Lean-Inspired Process
Operational waste, or workflow processes that do not add value, is a frustrating but nonetheless largely tolerated barrier to efficiency and morale for medical trainees. In this article, the authors tested a novel reporting system using several submission formats (text messaging, e-mail, Web form, mobile application) to allow residents to report various types of operational waste in real time. This system informally promoted "lean" principles of waste identification and continuous improvement. In all, 154 issues were submitted between March 30, 2011, and June 30, 2012, and categorized as closely as possible into lean categ...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - April 28, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Raja, P. V., Davis, M. C., Bales, A., Afsarmanesh, N. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

The Human Side of Lean Teams
Organizations use lean principles to increase quality and decrease costs. Lean projects require an understanding of systems-wide processes and utilize interdisciplinary teams. Most lean tools are straightforward, and the biggest barrier to successful implementation is often development of the team aspect of the lean approach. The purpose of this article is to share challenges experienced by a lean team charged with improving a hospital discharge process. Reflection on the experience provides an opportunity to highlight lessons from The Team Handbook by Peter Scholtes and colleagues. To improve the likelihood that process i...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - April 28, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Wackerbarth, S. B., Strawser-Srinath, J. R., Conigliaro, J. C. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Weaving Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Skills Into All Levels of Medical Training: An Annotated Bibliography
(Source: American Journal of Medical Quality)
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - April 28, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Mochan, E., Nash, D. B. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

A Simple Framework for Complex System Improvement
The need to rapidly improve health care value is unquestioned, but the means to accomplish this task is unknown. Improving performance at the level of the health care organization frequently involves multiple interventions, which must be coordinated and sequenced to fit the specific context. Those responsible for achieving large-scale improvements are challenged by the lack of a framework to describe and organize improvement strategies. Drawing from the fields of health services, industrial engineering, and organizational behavior, a simple framework was developed and has been used to guide and evaluate improvement initiat...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - April 28, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Kraft, S., Carayon, P., Weiss, J., Pandhi, N. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Explaining Racial Disparities in Anticoagulation Control: Results From a Study of Patients at the Veterans Administration
Higher rates of stroke, major hemorrhage, and death among black patients receiving warfarin, compared with white patients, is likely related to poorer anticoagulation control. The research team investigated patient-level and site-level factors that might account for this group difference. A summary measure of anticoagulation control (percent time in therapeutic range [TTR]), patient characteristics, and site-level process of care measures were obtained for 9572 black and 88 481 white patients at the Veterans Health Administration. The research team studied disparity in TTR adjusting for patient and site characteristics. Me...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - April 28, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Rao, S. R., Reisman, J. I., Kressin, N. R., Berlowitz, D. R., Ash, A. S., Ozonoff, A., Miller, D. R., Hylek, E. M., Zhao, S., Rose, A. J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

The Association Between Skilled Nursing Facility Care Quality and 30-Day Readmission Rates After Hospitalization for Heart Failure
The objective of the study was to assess the association between care quality of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and 30-day risk-adjusted readmission rate (RAR) for patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). A retrospective cohort study was conducted involving 603 discharges from a tertiary care hospital to 17 SNFs after hospitalization for ADHF. SNF quality was assessed based on the CMS 5-star quality rating and a survey of SNF characteristics and processes of care. In all, 20% of cases were readmitted within 30-days; 9.4% were for ADHF. The all-cause RARs for higher- and lower-quality SNFs were 18% (95% co...
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - April 28, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Ogunneye, O., Rothberg, M. B., Friderici, J., Slawsky, M. T., Gadiraju, V. T., Stefan, M. S. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

AJMQ Newsletter
(Source: American Journal of Medical Quality)
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - February 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Casey, D. E., Johnson, H. C. L. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Difference in Ability of Hospitalized Patients to Identify Their Attending Physician From Surgical and Nonsurgical Service Lines: An Academic Medical Center Study
(Source: American Journal of Medical Quality)
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - February 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Namavar, A. A. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Impact of a Pharmacy Education Program on Chronic Kidney Disease Patients With Complications in an Outpatient Clinic at Police General Hospital
(Source: American Journal of Medical Quality)
Source: American Journal of Medical Quality - February 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Rungkitwattanakul, D., Chaijamorn, W., Meesomboon, R., Sangwiroon, A., Kongrod, J., Nurukkae, P., Poolluea, S. Tags: Articles Source Type: research