Dear Colleagues,
As you know, there is no shortage of issues and topics related to the management of Healthcare Risk, Quality and Safety, and in this issue of The Clarity Post, we are pleased to provide you with resources and insight into a wide variety of these areas. Of key importance is the release of the National Academy of Sciences' report, Improving Diagnosis in Health Care. This report is a follow-up to the other sentinel reports by IOM that began in 1999 and raised a whole global consciousness on Patient Safety. This report shines a bright light on missed or delayed diagnosis and offers some strong paths toward improving diagnosis and increasing patient satisfaction. In addition, we call attention to the management of some of the contemporary issues facing our healthcare organizations today - workplace violence and patient handoffs.
We trust that this early fall edition of
The Clarity Post
will provide you valuable education and insights to help in your overall efforts to enhance the safety of your patients, visitors and staff. We appreciate you taking the time and interest to read on.
Anna Marie Hajek
President & CEO
Clarity Group, Inc.
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IOM Report - Improving Diagnosis in Health Care
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Clarity Group is proud to be a listed supporter of the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (
SIDM), a group committed to raising awareness regarding diagnostic errors in healthcare and bringing about change. To accomplish its goal, the SIDM participated in the launch of the
Coalition to Improve Diagnosis and the development of the report,
Improving Diagnosis in Health Care.
The report is a major milestone in the industry as it brings awareness of and action to diagnostic error. It states that diagnostic error is the leading type of medical malpractice claims and that 6-17% of hospital adverse events are related to diagnostic errors. The report provides significant research into this area and outlines recommendations to improve diagnoses and make them more accurate, reliable, efficient, and safe.
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Workplace Violence in Healthcare Webinar
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, those who work in healthcare and social assistance settings are five times more likely to be victims of nonfatal assaults or violent acts than the average worker. The number of reported incidents has increased significantly over the last few years and this begs the question, what can we do to create healthier and safer work environments for our staff as well as our patients and visitors?
To answer this question, Clarity recently held a webinar that explored violence in the healthcare workplace and discussed safety plans that can help healthcare professionals prevent and respond to violent situations.
- The current state of workplace violence in healthcare
- Techniques and strategies to mitigate and prevent violence in healthcare organizations
- The elements of an active shooter response plan
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Integrating Behavioral Health into a Primary Care System
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Healthcare organizations increasingly understand the value of integrating behavioral health into primary care. According to data and research:
- 1 in 4 people seeking primary healthcare services has a significant mental health condition
- Patients with behavioral health conditions use more medical resources, are more likely to be hospitalized for medical conditions, and are readmitted to the hospital more frequently
- Costs for care of chronic medical conditions are 2-3 times higher with co-morbid behavioral health conditions
Behavioral health conditions are extremely common, and with this integration, providers can improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare spending. Taking on this task is not easy, though, so the following resources are to provide additional background and helpful tools to assist you in your journey.
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Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015-2020 Released
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On September 21, 2015, the ONC released its updated
Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015-2020.
Building from its previous plan in 2011, the ONC, and other contributors, developed its latest strategies to help healthcare providers offer high-quality care at lower costs and engage the population through the effective use of information and technology.
Over the past five years, healthcare has experienced a remarkable transformation in the world of information technology, and it is the federal government's mission to continue this trend.
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Celebrate National Rural Health Day
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Mark your calendars - National Rural Health Day is November 19.
Rural healthcare providers across America play a critical role in our country's health system, and we look forward to recognizing their contributions!
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7 Ways to Boost Patient Engagement
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With the advent of social media and the expansion of technology, you would think that engaging patients would be easy, but the increase in communication outlets almost makes it harder. This is an area that is drawing more and more attention because patient engagement can have a major impact on care outcomes as well as financial benefits.
Healthcare Intelligence Network put together an infographic that provides helpful stats and recommendations to assist healthcare providers in increasing their patient engagement.
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Patient Safety Organizations
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Clarity PSO Learning Series: Patient Transfers and Delays in Medication Therapy
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It is well-known that during transitions of care, whether they be within a department, across an organization or external, the likelihood of an error is very high.
For this issue of the Clarity PSO Learning Series, we reviewed patient handoff data to learn more about the errors related to this practice and the possible reasons as to why they occur.
Read the
report to see what we found as well as for tools and resources to help you improve your patient handoffs.
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PSOs - The Basics
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Still not sure what a PSO is? Here are a few resources to help break down the PSO program and demonstrate its benefits to the healthcare community:
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The Benefits of Structured Settlements
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If you are injured and awarded compensation, would you rather receive a lump-sum of $2,000,000 or regularly scheduled payments for life? The lump-sum settlement is the traditional method for settling a case, but it is not always the most advantageous.
Clarity Group's experienced claims consultants have assisted in many cases over the years and recommend every claims management team to look at all of the options before deciding on a compensation plan. Structured Settlements is not widely used, but it is a creative tool to consider. The income is tax-free and the payments are specifically tailored to meet the needs of the injured party and his or her family.
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Cyber Security in the Insurance World
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yber security and cyber liability are not just concerns of the IT professionals at a healthcare organization. In order to ensure the security of your data, you need to look at the issue from all angles, from IT to risk management and everything in between.
These are topics that even insurance underwriters have to worry about, and t
he following resource provides a few
underwriting and risk management concepts to think about in your cyber security journey.
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Webinar - Building a Meaningful Safety Program - One CHC's Story
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| Join us on October 28th at 12pm CDT for a webinar discussing the importance of a strong
safety program in Community Health Centers and Federally Qualified Health Centers. The webinar will cover:
- The basics of the PSO program
- How a safety program can be developed for CHCs/FQHCs by combining 2 important tools: the PSO program and an electronic safety event management system
- One FQHC's journey in deploying a safety program
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A Success Story from Kennedy Krieger Institute
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Before implementing our patient safety and incident management system, the Healthcare
SafetyZone
® Portal, Kennedy Krieger Institute, an internationally recognized institution located in Maryland, used an inefficient paper-based reporting system. Thanks to the Portal's easy-to-use functionality and robust follow-up and analysis tools, Kennedy Krieger has seen significant improvements in communication and follow-up. Staff can now easily translate data into meaningful reports and drive changes Institute-wide.
Read the
Case Study to learn more about Kennedy Krieger's success with the Portal.
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Our Blog Is Up and Active!
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The latest voice of Clarity, the
Healthcare SafetyZone® Blog is churning out content as we speak.
For us, this blog represents our commitment to use every avenue possible to share education and to foster discussion around the subjects of healthcare and patient safety. Follow us for news, information, education and everything risk-quality-safety related!
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Sources:
1 - Spitzer, JAMA 1999; Kessler, Arch Gen Psych 2005
2 - R. G. Kathol, S. Melek, and S. Sargent, "Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services and Professionals as a Core Part of Health in Clinically Integrated Networks." In Clinical Integration: Accountable Care & Population Health, third edition, eds. K. Yale, J. Bohn, C. Konschak et al. (Virginia Beach, Va.: Convurgent Publishing, forthcoming).
3 - S. P. Melek, D. T. Norris, and J. Paulus, Economic Impact of Integrated Medical-Behavioral Healthcare: Implications for Psychiatry (Denver, Colo.: Milliman Inc., April 2014.)
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This newsletter contains links to sites which are not owned or maintained by Clarity Group, Inc. Clarity Group is not responsible for the content of non-Clarity Group linked sites, and the views expressed on non-Clarity Group sites do not necessarily reflect the views of Clarity Group, Inc.
This information is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, medical and/or legal advice. Specific questions regarding this information should be addressed to local advisors and legal counsel. © 2015 Clarity Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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