HPOE.org - Topic Areas

Care Coordination

Health care extends outside of a hospital's four walls. This topic area explores strategies hospitals are currently employing to improve care coordination. From reducing readmissions to improving care follow-up, these hospitals are focused on reducing costs while provide patient-and family-focused care to their communities. The end result is quality health care that meets the 6 IOM aims.

$45 billion dollars are spent yearly on health care-associated infections. The CDC estimates that 1.7 million infections cause 99,000 deaths in hospitals each year. However, hospitals are making incredible strides to reduce, and in some cases eliminate, HAIs. The following is a list of resources and...

Health Information Technology

Technology as a tool. HIT can prove vital in linking delivery sites, patient and providers with the information they need in a timely and efficient manner. It can streamline process and improve quality of patient care when effectively implemented. According to the 2009 H&HN's Most Wired Survey, while technology alone doesn't lead to performance improvement, the top tech performing hospitals have better ...

Medication Management

The average patient is subjected to more than one medication error each hospital day, with an annual cost of $3.5 billion, according the IOM. Medication errors can occur anytime, in any step of the delivery process. Understanding the types and causes of medication errors can help hospitals identify gaps in the medication management process and ...

Patient Safety

Safety is always first in the minds of all health care workers, yet few organizations create safety cultures. Creating systems that provide safe, reliable care is what high reliability organizations strive to achieve. HPOE has identified several HROs and highlights their case studies, along with a list of tools and resources available to all hospitals in their journey to patient safety excellence.

In his 1997 work, "Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents," James Reason illustrated the key...

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Patient Throughput

Wait creates bottlenecks and can jeopardize a patient's safety. Wait usually equals waste. Hospitals that pursue excellence focus on removing waste and improving the patient experience. Improving patient flow throughout all areas of the hospital improves quality of care. Hospitals are having great success improving the flow of patients and many have provided their stories.

Hospitals are plagued with waits, delays and diversions. Patient safety, hospital revenue, staff satisfaction and patient sat...

CUSP

The AHA's Health Research & Education Trust, will implement this comprehensive unit-based safety program (CUSP) in more than 100 hospitals in 10 states. HRET, through a contract with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality will work in partnership with Johns Hopkins University Quality and Safety Research Group and the Keystone Center for Patient Safety a...

Societal Responsiblity

The greening of people and of the organization, improving the well-being of both…if green is a heart color of the organization; it will be a thread that runs throughout the organization. It will become the way we function on daily basis.

David Wold, Board Chair, MultiCare/Good Samaritan Hospit...

Serious Adverse Events

Hospital leaders work hard to minimize serious adverse events through proven practices and preventive systems. Unfortunately, human error can and does occur. In the rare cases when patients are harmed, hospital leaders must do the right thing for those patients and their families. According to the Health and Human Services Administration, Office of the Inspector General December 2008 report, Adverse Events in Hospitals:...