Top Hospital Quality Problems and How to Solve Them
Research conducted by the American College of Healthcare Executives revealed top hospital issues. The list was presented from the highest to lowest rate. In 2016, the order is as follows: Financial issues Government mandates Patient safety and quality care Staffing concerns Patient satisfaction Access to care Doctor-related issues Population health management Technological challenges Organization-related...
Medicare Reimbursement Reduction due to Poor Hospital Quality and Patient Safety
While there’s no doubt that federal healthcare programs are beneficial for everyone in need of financial assistance with medical expenses, government funding can only allocate a limited annual budget for this purpose. This is why reimbursement is subject to approval; and with individuals taking advantage of the system’s loopholes, funding is further reduced. It’s...
How Accreditation Affects Health Care Quality for Hospitals and Nurses
Several studies have proven that accreditation programs contribute towards healthcare services’ quality. One specific piece of research – which utilized numerous databases including Medline, Embase, Healthstar, and Cinhal from 1980 to 2009, and covered varying medical conditions including pain management, infection control, surgical care, trauma and more – have concluded that accrediting bodies contributed...
The Role of Nurses in Hospital Quality Improvement
Nurses are directly involved in almost all aspects of hospital quality, including patient care, bedside and medication management, assistance with surgeries and other major operations, data collection/reporting, and more. Furthermore, nurses are directly responsible for monitoring and assessing patients, and performing immediate interventions to reduce risk or prevent medical complications. Nurses also oversee other care...
The Role of Nurses in Hospital Implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHR)
The rising number of deaths due to medical errors have necessitated the implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHRs), to improve safety and care in hospitals. In a report by the Commonwealth Fund, the United States ranks amongst the least satisfactory when compared with other first world countries on the issue of medical safety. Automating...
How Communication Technology Bridges the Language Gap in Healthcare
With such a great number of languages, the U.S. healthcare scene faces some challenges with patient care. However, communication technology can certainly surmount these challenges. A census in 2000 showed that more than 47 million in the U.S. speak a language at home other than English. The number of citizens who have limited English proficiency...