Rural health care quality resources related to rural health and human services, with information provided by the Rural Assistance Center Copyright 2009 Rural Assistance Center http://www.raconline.org/info_guides/quality/ Shortfalls in health take years off the lives of all Americans and hurt our nation's economy, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), which today announced the new Commission to Build a Healthier America, a national, independent and nonpartisan health commission that will focus on factors outside the health care system and identify non-medical, evidence-based strategiesboth short- and long-termto improve the health of all Americans. http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/product.jsp?id=26672 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:43:10 CST http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/product.jsp?id=26672 Keith Mueller, Chair of the RUPRI Rural Health Panel and Associate Dean, Department Chair, and Professor in the College of Public Health, Department of Health Services Research and Administration, UNMC has been appointed to the AHRQ National Advisory Council by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. http://www.rupri.org/leftsidemore.php?selectedid=29 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:54:55 CST http://www.rupri.org/leftsidemore.php?selectedid=29 Kaiser Health News reports that as the United States launches "an ambitious program, backed by $19 billion in government incentives, to accelerate the adoption of computerized patient records in doctors' offices and hospitals," a new study of 3,000 hospitals "has found little difference in the cost and quality of care," The New York Times reports. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2009/November/16/electronic-medical-records.aspx Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:18:55 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2009/November/16/electronic-medical-records.aspx More than 85,000 physicians and other eligible professionals who successfully reported quality-related data to Medicare under the 2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) received incentive payments totaling more than $92 million, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today, well above the $36 million paid in 2007. http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12546 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:53:05 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12546 Kaiser Health News article reports that bad as most health measures appear in lower Appalachia, there are enduring models in places like Hazard that could prove instructive to rebuilding healthy communities across the nation, both rural and urban, according to Dr. Forest Callico, former director of the Appalachian Regional Hospitals and a rural health advisor to both the Clinton and second Bush administrations. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2009/November/13/rural-health-care-kentucky.aspx Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:51:17 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2009/November/13/rural-health-care-kentucky.aspx Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appointed seven new members to the National Advisory Council for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), a council that provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary and the director of the agency on priorities for a national health services research agenda. http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12532 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:57:12 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12532 Examines the fourth year participation and quality measure results for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare public reporting database for hospital quality measures. -- Flex Monitoring Team http://www.flexmonitoring.org/documents/BriefingPaper22_HospitalCompare4.pdf Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:09:07 CST http://www.flexmonitoring.org/documents/BriefingPaper22_HospitalCompare4.pdf To reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in stand-alone or same-day surgical centers, the HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the availability of up to $9 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to state survey agencies in 43 states. http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12528 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:34:46 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12528 Amid growing concerns about racial, ethnic and language disparities in health care, The Joint Commission and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights have released a video, entitled Improving Patient-Provider Communication, which supports language access in health care organizations. http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12527 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:30:54 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12527 Funding to support Research Demonstration and Dissemination (R18) grant applications to implement safe practice interventions. -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2267 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:02:59 CST http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2267 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the Safe Use Initiative, a new program aimed at reducing the likelihood of preventable harm from medication use. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm189100.htm Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:40:17 CST http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm189100.htm A new Commonwealth Fund survey of primary care physicians in 11 countries reveals that the United States lags far behind its peers in key measures of access, quality, and use of health ITundermining doctors' efforts to provide timely, high-quality care. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/News/News-Releases/2009/Nov/International-Survey-of-Primary-Care-Physicians-News-Release.aspx Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:21:59 CST http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/News/News-Releases/2009/Nov/International-Survey-of-Primary-Care-Physicians-News-Release.aspx Associated Press article tells of a medical practice in a small Iowa community that has turned a doctor's office into a "medical home," an experiment that policymakers from President Barack Obama on down have praised as key to getting better quality without costly complications. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jeuQbQBHj_aFElVBxtdlwEsNX5kwD9BK865O0 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:17:28 CST http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jeuQbQBHj_aFElVBxtdlwEsNX5kwD9BK865O0 PRWeb article reports that the clock is ticking for tens of thousands of heart patients in rural America as a looming federal government decision that is only days away could take away their access to quality cardiac care. http://www.prweb.com/releases/cardiology/medicare/prweb3109854.htm Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:48:31 CST http://www.prweb.com/releases/cardiology/medicare/prweb3109854.htm Ergonomics Today article reports that Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has introduced legislation that would establish standards for safe patient handling and injury prevention for health care workers. http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=2394 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:23:56 CST http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=2394 Indicates that Critical Access Hospitals continue to be actively involved in a wide range of quality improvement initiatives, with patient safety and medication safety in particular as major areas of focus. -- Flex Monitoring Team http://www.flexmonitoring.org/documents/BriefingPaper18_QualityReport2007.pdf Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:20:28 CST http://www.flexmonitoring.org/documents/BriefingPaper18_QualityReport2007.pdf Funding for demonstration projects to allow States and health care systems to develop, implement and evaluate medical liability models that put patient safety first and work to reduce preventable injuries. -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2264 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:13:21 CST http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2264 Funding for planning grants from States and health care systems for patient safety and medical liability innovations that put patient safety first and work to reduce preventable injuries. -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2263 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:03:09 CST http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2263 Details promising practices tested by nine participating health plans from the Center for Health Care Strategies: Collaborative on Improving Managed Care Quality for Youth with Serious Behavioral Health Needs. -- Annie E. Casey Foundation http://www.chcs.org/usr_doc/Improving_Medicaid_Managed_Care_for_Youth_with_Serious_Behavioral_Health_Needs_Toolkit.pdf Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:24:34 CST http://www.chcs.org/usr_doc/Improving_Medicaid_Managed_Care_for_Youth_with_Serious_Behavioral_Health_Needs_Toolkit.pdf Funding to promote the use of health impact assessments (HIAs) as a decision-making tool for policymakers. -- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2260 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:15:49 CST http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2260 Illustrates how Marshfield Clinic serving rural Wisconsin can improve patient outcomes andreduce costs by undertaking a population-based approach to ambulatory care managementsupported by information technology. -- Commonwealth Fund http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Case%20Study/2009/Aug/1293_McCarthy_Marshfield_case_study.pdf Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:49:57 CST http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Case%20Study/2009/Aug/1293_McCarthy_Marshfield_case_study.pdf Provides in-depth quality evaluation and improvement programs for Medicare. Offers expert consulting resources and tools to hospitals, physicians and nursing homes. http://www.ofmq.com/ Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:41:59 CST http://www.ofmq.com/ An interactive U.S. map to view state-specific rankings and results compared to benchmarks, and to view the number of lives and dollars each state could save by achieving benchmark levels of performance. -- Commonwealth Fund http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Charts-and-Maps/State-Scorecard-2009.aspx Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:16:46 CST http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Charts-and-Maps/State-Scorecard-2009.aspx The Dartmouth Atlas project is a funded research effort of the faculty of the Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth Medical School. The Atlas project brings together researchers in diverse disciplines - including epidemiology, economics, and statistics - and focuses on the accurate description of how medical resources are distributed and used in the United States. -- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation http://www.dartmouthatlas.org/ Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:10:40 CST http://www.dartmouthatlas.org/ Provides consumers with information on how well hospitals care for patients with heart attacks, heart failure, or pneumonia. -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/ Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:47:41 CST http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/ A summary of a report on a specific quality concern - patient safety. Discusses types of errors that occur in hospitals and strategies for improving patient safety. -- Institute of Medicine http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9728 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:32:42 CST http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9728 Leaders at health care innovation organizations nationwide, including rural, share perspectives about how their centers operate, the objectives they are pursuing, and some of the challenges they face. -- California HealthCare Foundation http://www.chcf.org/documents/hospitals/InnovationCenters.pdf Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:02:58 CST http://www.chcf.org/documents/hospitals/InnovationCenters.pdf Includes a national overview of disparities in health care, including quality of care and access to health care. -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr08/nhdr08.pdf Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:13:21 CST http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr08/nhdr08.pdf Provides reports from quality research in formats for consumers, clinicians, and policymakers. Several resources are available in Spanish. -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:50:47 CST http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm Discusses how Medicaid and CHIP have strong foundational bases to develop policies that support medical homes and achieve the goals of quality improvement and cost containment. -- Commonwealth Fund http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Fund%20Report/2009/Jun/Building%20Medical%20Homes%20in%20State%20Medicaid%20and%20CHIP%20Programs/medicalhomesfinal_revised.pdf Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:16:50 CST http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Fund%20Report/2009/Jun/Building%20Medical%20Homes%20in%20State%20Medicaid%20and%20CHIP%20Programs/medicalhomesfinal_revised.pdf