http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digestrss.jsp RWJF News Digest - Quality/Equality This frequently updated news digest on the subject of Quality/Equality highlights key articles from major journals and news publications. The digest is edited and compiled by The Advisory Board. en-us Copyright 2000-2009 RWJF Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:12:48 EST webmail@rwjf.org Tracking System Helps Arkansas, Oklahoma Hospitals Improve ED Efficiency, Quality Healthcare IT News reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24963&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24963 webmail@rwjf.org Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST Maryland Launches Physician Hand-Washing Surveillance Program http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24926&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24926 webmail@rwjf.org Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST Maine's Rural Medical Centers Benefit From Teletrauma Service Bangor Daily News reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24927&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24927 webmail@rwjf.org Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST Massachusetts Groups Lobby for Nurse-Patient Ratios to Improve Care Quality http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24844&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24844 webmail@rwjf.org Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST N.J. Hospitals Receive Funding to Implement Care Quality Improvement Effort for Nurses AHA News Now reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24804&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24804 webmail@rwjf.org Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST North Carolina Seeks to Boost Interpreter Services Asheville Citizen-Times reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24805&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24805 webmail@rwjf.org Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST Some Hospitals Praise eICUs Effect on Outcomes, Staffing Woes Wall Street Journal reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24723&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24723 webmail@rwjf.org Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST NIH Awards $75 Million to Study Care Disparities AHA News Now reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24724&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24724 webmail@rwjf.org Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST Implementing ICU Checklist is 'Complicated,' Developer Suggests Wall Street Journal reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24683&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24683 webmail@rwjf.org Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Bay Area Nurses Experiment with Strategies to Reduce Medication Administration Errors San Francisco Chronicle reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24684&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24684 webmail@rwjf.org Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT EHR Adoption Lags at Hospitals Caring for More Low-Income Patients Health Affairs finds an "emerging digital divide" in terms of electronic health record (EHR) system adoption among hospitals disproportionately caring for low-income patients and facilities caring for more general populations, Modern Healthcare reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24645&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24645 webmail@rwjf.org Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT IBM Opens Health Data Analysis Center to Improve Care Dallas Morning News reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24646&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24646 webmail@rwjf.org Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Study Suggests Electronic Tools Can Improve Patient Outcomes Government Health IT reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24563&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24563 webmail@rwjf.org Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Rhode Island Taps E-Prescribing Data to Track H1N1 Outbreak http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24483&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24483 webmail@rwjf.org Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT HHS Announces Funding for Projects to Target HAIs Modern Healthcare reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24484&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24484 webmail@rwjf.org Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Pilot Project in Texas Determines MRSA Reporting to be Burdensome, Costly Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is both burdensome and costly, Amarillo.com reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24404&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24404 webmail@rwjf.org Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Some Health Care Workers May Be 'Superspreaders' of Infection Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that health care workers, such as radiologists and physical therapists, may play a disproportionate role in spreading hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), suggesting the need for hospitals to evaluate hand-hygiene compliance "individually, rather than globally," MedPage Today reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24323&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24323 webmail@rwjf.org Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Insurer to Reimburse Physicians for Web-Based Patient Consultations Health Data Management reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24324&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24324 webmail@rwjf.org Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Errors More Common in Teaching Hospitals at Start of Academic Year British Medical Journal suggests that the rate of medical errors among medical interns and residents at teaching hospitals is significantly greater at the beginning of the academic year regardless of trainees' level of clinical experience, Reuters reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24286&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24286 webmail@rwjf.org Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT RWJF Awards Funding for Projects Designed to Reduce Care Disparities AHA News Now reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24287&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24287 webmail@rwjf.org Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Vermont Group Receives Funding to Offer Free E-Prescribing to Physicians Health Data Management reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24201&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24201 webmail@rwjf.org Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT West Virginia Hospitals Receive Funding for Pilot Project to Reduce Hospital Readmissions reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24083&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24083 webmail@rwjf.org Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Study Suggests Lack of Sleep, Not Overnight Shifts, Tied to Higher Complication Rates Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that attending surgeons and obstetricians who sleep fewer than six hours between shifts may be at increased risk for making surgical errors, the Boston Globe reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24025&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24025 webmail@rwjf.org Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Colorado Groups Select Sites for Telemedicine Pilot Project Denver Business Journal reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24026&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=24026 webmail@rwjf.org Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Iowa Groups Unveil Web-Based Electronic Prescribing Tool Healthcare IT News reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23963&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23963 webmail@rwjf.org Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Kaiser Permanente Receives $54 Million for IT, Medical Research Projects Government Health IT reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23964&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23964 webmail@rwjf.org Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT AMI, HF Mortality Rates Better at High-Performing GWTG Facilities, Study Finds American Heart Journal finds that hospitals receiving achievement awards from the American Heart Association's (AHA) Get With The Guidelines (GWTG) hospital-based quality improvement program appear to have modestly lower risk-adjusted mortality rates for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and heart failure (HF) patients, compared with all other hospitals, HealthDay reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23883&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23883 webmail@rwjf.org Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT HealthGrades: U.S. Hospital Mortality Rates Improve but Gap Persists Modern Healthcare reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23884&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23884 webmail@rwjf.org Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Buffalo, N.Y., Group Launches EHR Project to Improve Kidney Disease Care Buffalo Business First reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23825&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23825 webmail@rwjf.org Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Connecticut Receives Federal Funding for Infection Control Efforts reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23826&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23826 webmail@rwjf.org Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Google Health Adds Telemedicine Capabilities to Service Lineup Healthcare IT News reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23766&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23766 webmail@rwjf.org Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Hospitals, Vendors Seizing on Physicians' Use of 'Smart Phones' Wall Street Journal reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23683&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23683 webmail@rwjf.org Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT University of Virginia Employs Scribes to Advance EMR Adoption USA Today reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23684&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23684 webmail@rwjf.org Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Scorecard Finds State-Level Gaps in Health Performance Modern Healthcare. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23584&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23584 webmail@rwjf.org Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Microsoft Launches New Online Tools for HealthVault Health Data Management reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23504&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23504 webmail@rwjf.org Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Publishing Medical Outcomes Data Drove Pennsylvania Hospital Improvement Wall Street Journal. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23443&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23443 webmail@rwjf.org Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT New Online Portal Crafts Personalized Health Plans New York Times reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23444&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23444 webmail@rwjf.org Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Patient Safety Experts Call for Physician Accountability To Err is Human report, a report in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that the 'no blame' model to improve patient safety has not done enough to improve practices and calls for hospitals to adopt an accountability approach that enforces penalties when providers fail to adhere to protocols, the Wall Street Journal reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23385&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23385 webmail@rwjf.org Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT West Virginia Broadband Network to Link Medical Facilities State Journal reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23386&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23386 webmail@rwjf.org Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT New York-Based Hospital Alliance Receives Funding for Clinical Laboratory East Hampton Press reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23323&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23323 webmail@rwjf.org Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT Study Finds Just 31 Percent of U.S. EDs Met Recommended Wait Times Annals of Emergency Medicine finds that few acutely ill U.S. hospital emergency department (ED) patients are seen by physicians within recommended time frames, Modern Healthcare reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23244&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23244 webmail@rwjf.org Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT HHS Awards Grants for EHR and IT Adoption, Implementation AHA News Now reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23243&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23243 webmail@rwjf.org Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT AP Explores Interoperability Obstacles to EHR Adoption http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23205&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23205 webmail@rwjf.org Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT N.Y.-Based Health System Invests $400 Million in EHR Effort New York Times reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23163&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23163 webmail@rwjf.org Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Vermont IT Group Works to Facilitate Statewide EHR Adoption Healthcare IT News reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23164&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23164 webmail@rwjf.org Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Report Analyzes Pennsylvania Hospital Mortality, Readmission Rates Modern Healthcare reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23109&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23109 webmail@rwjf.org Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT New York Health Department Awards $174 Million for Care Quality, Efficiency Improvement Projects Modern Healthcare reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23110&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23110 webmail@rwjf.org Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT New Web Tools Designed to Reduce Care Disparities Healthcare IT News reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23044&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23044 webmail@rwjf.org Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Groups Issue Strategies for EDs to Improve Pediatric Care http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23002&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=23002 webmail@rwjf.org Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT HHS Officials Suggests Health IT Could Reduce Care Disparities Government Health IT reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22944&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22944 webmail@rwjf.org Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Study Suggests Humans to Blame for Most ED Errors BMC Emergency Medicine finds that the majority of errors occurring in hospital emergency departments (EDs) that resulted in or may have resulted in adverse events are attributable to human error, MedPage Today reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22883&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22883 webmail@rwjf.org Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Camden, N.J. to Launch EHR Exchange Philadelphia Inquirer reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22884&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22884 webmail@rwjf.org Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Delaware Adopts Standardized Wristband Coding System AHA News Now reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22844&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22844 webmail@rwjf.org Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Maryland to Launch Statewide HIE Sun reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22845&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22845 webmail@rwjf.org Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Medicare to Launch Medical Home Pilot Project reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22805&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22805 webmail@rwjf.org Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT White House Announces Grants for Patient Safety, Medical Liability AHA News Now reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22806&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22806 webmail@rwjf.org Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Children's National Medical Center Receives Gift for Surgical Innovation Center Washington Post reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22742&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22742 webmail@rwjf.org Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT New York Medical Group Consortium Receives Grant to Create Regional HIE Buffalo News reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22682&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22682 webmail@rwjf.org Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT New Web Site to Standardize Newborn Health Screening Process Health Data Management reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22683&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22683 webmail@rwjf.org Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT New Telehealth Resource Center Planned in Arizona Healthcare IT News reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22645&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22645 webmail@rwjf.org Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Sacramento Hospitals Implement Low-Tech Strategies to Improve Patient Outcomes Sacramento Bee reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22602&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22602 webmail@rwjf.org Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Survey Suggests Wisconsin Hospitals Invest Heavily in Health AHA News Now reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22543&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22543 webmail@rwjf.org Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Joint Commission Launches Center to Address Patient Safety Failures Wall Street Journal reports. ]]> http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22422&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22422 webmail@rwjf.org Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Hospitals Take Action to Reduce Risk of Patient Falls http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22403&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22403 webmail@rwjf.org Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Study Finds Patient Race Affects Physician Communication, Interactions http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22343&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22343 webmail@rwjf.org Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT Communities Experiment with Innovative Strategies to Improve Patient Care http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22344&cid=xrs_rss-nd http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/digest.jsp?id=22344 webmail@rwjf.org Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT