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The Clarity Post Quarterly Healthcare Newsletter
 SUMMER, 2017
 
Dear Colleagues,
 
Welcome to the Summer Edition of The Clarity Post™! As Clarity is a Chicago-based company, Summer is always quite welcome!
 
This issue of our newsletter provides insight on areas that continue to be at the forefront of concern and attention to healthcare providers, and also offers tools to help you address the Risk-Quality-Safety Management situations that you encounter. Starting off this edition is some cogent advice from Don Berwick, MD – as always a provocative speaker with an ability to celebrate success while he prods us to do better each day! With that spark and the materials that follow, we hope that you will find this both thought provoking and useful.
 
Enjoy this latest edition of The Clarity Post™...and have a fun and safe summer!
 
Anna Marie Hajek
President & CEO
Clarity Group, Inc.
 

HEALTHCARE HOT TOPICS: PATIENT SAFETY

 
DON BERWICK'S 7 ROADBLOCKS TO IMPROVING PATIENT SAFETY

Patient Safety is never far from the mind of any healthcare provider, risk, quality or safety manager or administrator. Since the early 1990s we have listened to Don Berwick, MD discuss how this issue of patient safety needs to be ingrained into every system and process, and yet it seems we are still only at the beginning of this journey. The wisdom of Dr. Berwick was again evident at the recent NPSF Patient Safety Congress. In his powerful and inspiring speech, he expressed the pressing need for healthcare providers to act on eveything we've learned from our efforts in the patient safety and quality improvement movement thus far, including bringing multiple perspectives together to achieve lasting results, and to remain commited to furthering that progress every day. We have done well in some areas, but we tend to spend more time looking at data than doing what needs to be done...and the time for doing is now! He has identified seven roadblocks to improving patient safety that healthcare leaders are up against every day, and they are summed up nicely in this article.

 


HEALTHCARE HOT TOPICS: READMISSIONS

 
INTEGRATING INFORMAL CAREGIVERS INTO THE DISCHARGE PROCESS

Reducing readmissions continues to be a core concern for healthcare providers. An innovative approach to addressing this issue is to integrate informal, unpaid caregivers in the discharge planning process for elderly patients. The author Alexandra Wilson Pecci shows us how adding one simple step to the discharge planning process of elderly patients can reduce readmissions by as much as 25%. Informal caregivers typically include spouses and children, and studies show that including them in the planning process can aid tremendously in improving patient outcomes. Give it a read here.

THE MEDICARE HOSPITAL READMISSION REDUCTION PROGRAM

Medicare is always trying to maximize efficiency and minimize costs, and in keeping with that has implemented programs to provide incentives to reduce hospital readmissions. One of these types of programs is the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP). This article looks at the impact the program has had on Medicare patients and hospitals, and focuses on the national picture for readmissions and what may be expected by providers in the future. Check out the complete article.

 


HEALTHCARE HOT TOPICS: THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC

RISK PREVENTION STRATEGIES

The Opioid epidemic continues to rage across the country. While there is a lot of public attention to this tragic situation, providers still struggle with how to best approach the issue to get a lasting resolution. Clarity Group, through our Risk-Quality-Safety Consulting Services, provided a webinar on this topic that is designed to raise the awareness regarding pain management risks and the importance of developing comprehensive risk management strategies that help in the prevention, recognition, and treatment of prescription drug misuse.

Watch Here

 
DIAGNOSTIC OVERSHADOWING DANGERS

 A Risk-Quality-Safety concern is emerging regarding the co-morbidities that can be associated with opioid use when the patient is otherwise compromised. The AHRQ PSNet Case & Commentary presented here offers insight into some of the areas of concern in the assessment, documentation and treatment of these types of individuals. It can be used as a learning tool within your organization.

Read the Case & Commentary

 


CLARITY SPOTLIGHT

CLARITY PSO - THE PSO OPPORTUNITY FOR HEALTHCARE

Clarity PSO is in its 9th year of operation, and we are pleased to provide an inside look at the work of the patient safety organization and our clients. In previous Clarity PSO Reports, we’ve carefully mapped out the foundations of the PSO program, what it is, what it does, and how providers can benefit from working with a federally listed PSO. With this report we share how we put our learnings into practice for our clients every day, and how our recommendations impact the culture behind their healthcare delivery models.

READ THE FULL REPORT 

PSO LEARNING SERIES: THE 3 D's OF DEBRIEFING

In today's modern and extremely complex healthcare settings, every situation is a learning opportunity, and debriefings are a powerful catalyst for the learning necessary to improve patient care and safety. For this PSO Learning Series Report we explore the elements of a good debriefing process and offer ideas for how you can incorporate them into your daily operations.

READ THE FULL REPORT

RISK-QUALITY-SAFETY CONSULTING SERVICES

Have you recently implemented a telemedicine program? What about ambulatory safety? Are you a hospital with growing outpatient services? As you undertake a new service or are trying to manage a current service more effectively, our Risk-Quality-Safety Consulting Services can help you identify and implement a strategy that best fits your needs.

We invite you to participate in our Risk-Quality-Safety Environmental Study, and we'll be happy to share the results with you!

 


CHECK OUT CLARITY GROUP IN PERSON!

SEPTEMBER 18-20, 2017
NAHQ Next
Cincinnati, OH

OCTOBER 15-18, 2017
ASHRM
Seattle, WA


 

Clarity Group, Inc.  |  773-864-8280  |  info@claritygrp.com

www.claritygrp.com

 


Do you have an idea for a topic that you'd like to see covered in The Clarity Post™? Email us your thoughts at info@claritygrp.com!


This content in this email is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, medical and/or legal advice. Questions regarding this information should be addressed to local advisors and legal counsel.
© 2017 Clarity Group, Inc. All rights reserved.