Life before antibiotics is a scary thought, but a clarion call for behavior change has come from the Center for Disease Control (CDC). We are on the verge of an era without antibiotics to cure infection. Dr. Srinivasan calls this a “post antibiotic era”. To appreciate the staggering implications of this message, imagine the outcome of the following two scenarios without effective antibiotics. Your 8 year-old daughter is playing with the cat and suddenly the cat bites and scratches her. Despite carefully cleaning the wound and making a quick trip to the urgent care for antibiotic coverage … [Read more...]
CMS Requirements Will Be “Trick” for Hospital Budgets this October
October means fall leaves, Halloween goblins…and a new “spook” if your local hospital is one that will receive less money from the government. This new Halloween treat will last for a full year however, not just one night. The new healthcare law requires CMS to monitor quality and safety in hospitals and to rank order their results. The legal mandate is to deny payment to hospitals that fall in the bottom quarter of this list. They are designated worst performing and will lose money as a result. A New Beginning or a Cliff? The law has mandated pay for performance based on three categories: … [Read more...]
A Revolution is Coming for 21st Century Patients
Colonists and Patients July 4th is for celebrating America’s independence from England. We picnic, enjoy fireworks, and watch parades…its great fun. The Revolutionary war was anything but fun. It was gut-wrenching marches in stifling heat or blowing snow often with only rags tied on the soldiers’ feet because the boots were worn through. It was unthinkable that a people as varied in interests, wealth, and skills could come together for their desire to be free and beat the most powerful army in the world, but they did. Then the real work began, creating a government that would work and live … [Read more...]
Listen! Say Our Patients
Patient engagement is the new mantra. Several posts on 21st Century Patients blog have addressed this phrase and the confusion surrounding the term. Likewise, there are can be no defined outcomes for “engagement”. Although a meaningless phrase it is here to stay – subject to various interpretations and possibly used as a weapon for someone’s benefit. I suggest we step back a moment and really look at our clinical care areas for the presence of “engagement”. What do you see? Where are the eyes and ears? Perhaps you can identify with the scene in the Emergency Department of this story in … [Read more...]
What Can The Magnificent 7 Teach Us About Hospitals?
If you have never seen the 1960s blockbuster old western, The Magnificent Seven, you may want to have a look. The movie is popular in Russia even today. Yes, the lead star, Yul Brynner was Russian, but the story itself carries several messages about values and priorities. These messages may resonate with clinicians and administrators. Like the Seven in the movie who chose to take on a battle for the struggling farmers of a Mexican village, hospital leaders today are developing survival tactics to deal with a very aggressive healthcare marketplace. The top 7 strategic priorities from the … [Read more...]
If Nurses Could Take Over the World…
What do you think would happen to patient care if nurses took over the world? I suggest this question should be the headline for Nurses Week because, as a nation, we are missing the point about improving healthcare. Words like patient engagement are tossed around freely without an understanding of what it really means to “engage” a patient. Well, nurses do know what it means and there are three million RNs in the US who can lay claim to a long history of significant contributions to improving health because nurses have always engaged patients. This is Nurses Week and it offers an … [Read more...]
Choosing Engagement
This week lay and professional press will focus on a growing national collaborative of medical societies engaged in an information campaign for consumers. Choosing Wisely® wants patients and care providers to engage in discussion on the evidence for commonly used tests and procedures. Risk, harm and necessity are central to this conversation and a path forward for better understanding about commonly held beliefs. Forks in the Road This is not an easy path. In fact there are three forks in the road that make the journey to greater understanding a significant challenge. They are: Ritual … [Read more...]
In the Forest of Safety and Engagement
Are you in a hospital leadership position? Whether you are in the C-Suite or managing 24/7 care on a clinical unit you understand the challenge in maintaining focus and finding balance in today’s chaotic environment. It’s Like a Mountain Hike If you have ever hiked in the Rockies you know that a trail map and good compass are very helpful. In fact, they are essential if you plan to return home someday. Forests are amazing, rejuvenating and inspirational because there is so much variety in the nature around you. It is easy to become absorbed in your immediate surrounding but what happens … [Read more...]
What The Friendly Skies Can Teach Us About Patient Safety
If you fly, you recognize these words… “Ladies and Gentlemen we would appreciate your attention as we explain the safety features of this aircraft.” The approach varies slightly by airline but basic information about air turbulence and the importance of wearing your seat belts, the location of emergency exits, and how to use oxygen masks is spelled out in simple language. For those of us who fly often this safety briefing seems humdrum, and can lead us to a complacent attitude about the role we might assume if there is an in-flight emergency. It could be a fatal mistake if we have not … [Read more...]
HCAHPS… Not Like Amazon!
You understand the limitations of the HCAHPS survey if you work in a hospital today. Whether a busy clinician or clinical leader, you will appreciate having access to a new study about the limitation of quantitative measures alone in analysis of patients’ experience with their hospital care. Two take-a-ways from this study Patient comments enhanced the numerical results of the survey Patients who provided negative comments gave significantly lower numerical scores The Journal of Healthcare Management recent article gives credibility to the importance of qualitative feedback from … [Read more...]