News
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Data Challenges
Spotlight On:
Winners Announced for Two RWJF Data Challenges
RWJF challenged video game developers to leverage data from Aligning Forces for Quality, the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program, and other databases to create games that engage patients and health providers in generating new quality data.
RWJF also challenged information technology specialists to use recently released CMS hospital price data to build visualizations of the data and applications & tools that can help consumers make better decisions.
Winners were announced at Health 2.0's fall conference.
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HIT Adoption
Spotlight On:
Hospitals, Physicians Make Major Strides in Electronic Health Record Adoption
Driven by major federal investments in health information technology (HIT) over the last several years, hospitals, physicians and other providers have made significant strides in the adoption of health information technology, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s annual report, Health Information Technology in the United States: Better Information Systems for Better Care, 2013.
The report, co-authored by Mathematica Policy Research and the Harvard School of Public Health, finds that in 2012, 44 percent of hospitals reported having a basic electronic health record system—commonly called an EHR—up 17 percentage points from 2011. Since 2010, when health care providers began receiving federal funding to encourage EHR adoption, the proportion of hospitals with at least a basic EHR has nearly tripled. Physicians have also made substantial progress, with 38.2 percent reporting the adoption of basic EHR functionalities in 2012.
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Reducing Readmissions
Spotlight On:
The Revolving Door Syndrome
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a report showing that one in eight Medicare patients were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of being released after surgery in 2010, while patients in the hospital for reasons other than surgery returned at an even higher rate of one in six. Both rates were virtually unchanged from 2008. The analysis shows that the overall lack of improvement in readmissions extends back to 2004, the earliest year that the Dartmouth Atlas has studied, with the national rate for readmissions following a medical discharge remaining the same in 2010 as it was in 2004 (15.9%).
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Patient Engagement
Spotlight On:
Encouraging Patient Engagement
New patient engagement principles have been developed by a committee of nurse leaders and patient advocates to offer guidance to the nursing community and other health care providers. The principles are intended to help those on the front lines of patient care develop models for patient engagement, as well as quality and safety interventions that support and encourage patients and families to become partners in their care.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-supported Nursing Alliance for Quality Care (NAQC) released the nine principles to support nurses and other health care providers in delivering high-quality, patient-centered care. NAQC leaders believe the principles can spark discussion among practicing nurses, nurse educators, students, and other providers, leading to policy initiatives that better integrate patients and families in all care decisions.
Latest Quality/Equality News Releases
New Report Challenges Basic Assumptions About Reforming Payment in Health Care
August 7, 2013New approach to controlling health care costs looks beyond rewards and penalties, emphasizing the need to harness the inherent motivation that doctors and patients have to make good decisions about health care.
Hospitals, Physicians Make Major Strides in Electronic Health Record Adoption
July 8, 2013Driven by major federal investments in health information technology over the last several years, hospitals, physicians and other providers have made significant strides in the adoption of Health Information Technology (HIT).
Foundation Announces $120,000 Challenge to Help Consumers Understand and Act Upon Hospital Pricing
June 3, 2013Applicants will create data visualizations, applications to help people compare what different hospitals charge.
The Revolving Door Syndrome: Patients Returning to Hospital Within Days of Being Released
February 11, 2013A report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows that hospitals and their community allies made little progress from 2008 to 2010 at reducing hospital readmissions for elderly patients.
Video Updates from Quality/Equality
Video updates from Quality/Equality programs and initiatives.
Media Contacts
Christine Clayton
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation media@rwjf.org (609) 627-5937