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<!--Generated by Squarespace Site Server v5.11.5 (http://www.squarespace.com/) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:26:41 GMT--><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"><title>Healthcare Quality News</title><subtitle>Healthcare Quality News</subtitle><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/</id><link rel="alternate" type="application/xhtml+xml" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/"/><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/atom.xml"/><updated>2010-07-22T12:56:53Z</updated><generator uri="http://www.squarespace.com/" version="Squarespace Site Server v5.11.5 (http://www.squarespace.com/)">Squarespace</generator><entry><title>Report finds hospital acquired infection rate dropped in Pennsylvania Hospitals</title><category term="Healthcare-Associated Infections"/><category term="U.S. Department of Health and Human Services"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/report-finds-hospital-acquired-infection-rate-dropped-in-pen.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/report-finds-hospital-acquired-infection-rate-dropped-in-pen.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-19T18:40:11Z</published><updated>2010-07-19T18:40:11Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[Pennsylvania hospitals have reduced hospital acquired infections by 12.5 percent between 2008 and 2009.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>HealthGrades releases names of top performing emergency departments</title><category term="HealthGrades"/><category term="Mortality"/><category term="Quality Ratings"/><category term="Risk-Adjusted Mortality"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/healthgrades-releases-names-of-top-performing-emergency-depa.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/healthgrades-releases-names-of-top-performing-emergency-depa.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-19T18:38:54Z</published><updated>2010-07-19T18:38:54Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[HealthGrades has released a report identifying the top performing emergency departments in the nation.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Americans spend more time in hospitals in their final days</title><category term="Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS)"/><category term="Hospice, Palliative, End-of-Life Care"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/americans-spend-more-time-in-hospitals-in-their-final-days.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/americans-spend-more-time-in-hospitals-in-their-final-days.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-19T18:37:03Z</published><updated>2010-07-19T18:37:03Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[The average time spent in hospice and palliative care is falling in the United States. In 2008, one-third of people who received hospice care received it for a week or less, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Pay for performance may not work well for all hospitals</title><category term="Hospital Pay-for-Reporting"/><category term="PLoS Medicine"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/pay-for-performance-may-not-work-well-for-all-hospitals.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/pay-for-performance-may-not-work-well-for-all-hospitals.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-19T18:35:33Z</published><updated>2010-07-19T18:35:33Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[Concerns have been raised about Medicare’s plan to implement pay-for-performance.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Hospitals can submit structural quality data online</title><category term="Data Collection and Reporting"/><category term="Reporting Hospital Quality Data for Annual Payment Update Program (RHQDAPU)"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/hospitals-can-submit-structural-quality-data-online.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/hospitals-can-submit-structural-quality-data-online.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-19T18:33:51Z</published><updated>2010-07-19T18:33:51Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[An online tool is available for hospitals and vendors to submit Structural Measures/Data Accuracy and Completeness Acknowledgement data for the Reporting Hospital Quality Data for Annual Payment Update Program for Fiscal Year 2011.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>CPOE systems can miss 50% of medication errors</title><category term="Electronic Medical Records"/><category term="The Leapfrog Group"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/cpoe-systems-can-miss-50-of-medication-errors.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/cpoe-systems-can-miss-50-of-medication-errors.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-19T18:32:47Z</published><updated>2010-07-19T18:32:47Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[Computer physician order entry systems can miss half of routine medication order errors, one third of which are potentially fatal.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Many Americans not getting recommended cancer screenings</title><category term="Cancer"/><category term="Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)"/><category term="Population Health"/><category term="Underinsured and Uninsured"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/many-americans-not-getting-recommended-cancer-screenings.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/many-americans-not-getting-recommended-cancer-screenings.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-19T18:31:11Z</published><updated>2010-07-19T18:31:11Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[Although the number of Americans being screened for colon and breast cancer has risen, some adults are still not getting recommended breast and colorectal cancer screenings.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Opportunities for states to share serious reportable events reporting</title><category term="NNational Quality Forum"/><category term="Serious Reportable Events/Never Events"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/opportunities-for-states-to-share-serious-reportable-events.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/opportunities-for-states-to-share-serious-reportable-events.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-19T18:29:42Z</published><updated>2010-07-19T18:29:42Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[Ten years ago, the Institute of Medicine called for mandatory reporting of medical events that result in death or serious harm, and voluntary reporting of near misses and minor injuries.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Program aims to improve palliative care at veteran’s hospitals</title><category term="Hospice, Palliative, End-of-Life Care"/><category term="U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/program-aims-to-improve-palliative-care-at-veterans-hospital.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/program-aims-to-improve-palliative-care-at-veterans-hospital.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-19T18:28:09Z</published><updated>2010-07-19T18:28:09Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded the City of Hope a three-year contract to educate nurses on how to provide better palliative care for Veterans with life-threatening illnesses.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Health Literacy Action Plan aims to improve health literacy across the nation</title><category term="Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)"/><category term="Population Health"/><category term="The Wall Street Journal"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/health-literacy-action-plan-aims-to-improve-health-literacy.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/19/health-literacy-action-plan-aims-to-improve-health-literacy.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-19T18:26:32Z</published><updated>2010-07-19T18:26:32Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[The Center for Disease Control estimates that 9 out of 10 adults have trouble following medical advice because of the jargon-filled language, dense writing, and complex explanations.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>U.S. health system underperforms when compared to other countries</title><category term="Healthcare Reform"/><category term="IOM Aim: Effective"/><category term="IOM Aim: Efficient"/><category term="IOM Aim: Equitable"/><category term="IOM Aim: Patient-Centered"/><category term="IOM Aim: Safe"/><category term="IOM Aim: Timely"/><category term="Quality Ratings"/><category term="The Commonwealth Fund"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/1/us-health-system-underperforms-when-compared-to-other-countr.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/1/us-health-system-underperforms-when-compared-to-other-countr.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-01T19:41:01Z</published><updated>2010-07-01T19:41:01Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[The U.S. health system is the most expensive in the world, but when compared to health systems in other countries, it consistently underperforms.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Experts propose four criteria for improving quality measures</title><category term="NEJM"/><category term="Quality Improvement Methods"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/1/experts-propose-four-criteria-for-improving-quality-measures.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/1/experts-propose-four-criteria-for-improving-quality-measures.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-01T19:39:48Z</published><updated>2010-07-01T19:39:48Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[Experts have examined process-of-care measures used in national transparency and payment programs to promote quality in hospitals and health systems and among physicians and have proposed four criteria for improving quality measures.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>New Jersey launches initiative to reduce heart failure readmissions</title><category term="New Jersey Hospital Association"/><category term="Rehospitalizations and readmissions"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/1/new-jersey-launches-initiative-to-reduce-heart-failure-readm.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/1/new-jersey-launches-initiative-to-reduce-heart-failure-readm.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-01T19:37:45Z</published><updated>2010-07-01T19:37:45Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[The New Jersey Hospital Association’s Institute for Quality and Patient Safety has launched a yearlong collaborative partnership to reduce heart failure hospital readmissions and improve the quality of healthcare in New Jersey.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Survey finds that the cost of individual insurance is rising</title><category term="Cost of Care"/><category term="Kaiser Family Foundation"/><category term="Underinsured and Uninsured"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/1/survey-finds-that-the-cost-of-individual-insurance-is-rising.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/1/survey-finds-that-the-cost-of-individual-insurance-is-rising.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-01T19:36:24Z</published><updated>2010-07-01T19:36:24Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[More than three-quarters of people who purchase individual health insurance report being asked for a premium increase when they renewed their coverage.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Thomson Reuters releases list of top 10 U.S. health systems</title><category term="Quality Ratings"/><category term="Thomson REuters"/><id>http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/1/thomson-reuters-releases-list-of-top-10-us-health-systems.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.hcqualitynews.com/home/2010/7/1/thomson-reuters-releases-list-of-top-10-us-health-systems.html"/><author><name>James J. Pfeffer</name></author><published>2010-07-01T19:34:55Z</published><updated>2010-07-01T19:34:55Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[Thomson Reuters has released its second annual study identifying the top 10 U.S. health systems based on their clinical performance across their entire system.]]></summary></entry></feed>