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Paula Ford-Martin

New Study Finds 27% of 30-Day Hospital Readmissions Are Preventable

On June 16, 2016

A recent University of California San Francisco (UCSF) study published in JAMA Internal Medicine reports that over one quarter of all 30-day hospital readmissions are preventable. The study, which looked at 1007 patients in 12 academic medical centers, found that poor communication, inadequate coordination of care, and insufficient post-discharge resources were major contributing factors to the readmissions problem.

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Patient Engagement, Patient Education, Health Engagement

The High Cost of Inpatient Diabetes Care

On November 13, 2015

Reduce Diabetes Readmissions with an Education Program that Follows Patients Home Each year, over 5.5 million patients with diagnosed diabetes pass through a U.S. hospital.[1] Inpatient care for these patients has an annual price tag of $76 billion.[2] And over 20% of patients admitted to a U.S. hospital for diabetes complications (as a primary listed diagnosis) end up having an unplanned readmission to the hospital within 30 days.[3]

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Patient Engagement, Care Management, Disease Management

HCAHPS and Patient Education: What You Need to Know

On August 3, 2015

By now, most professionals working in the hospital industry have heard the acronym HCAHPS (hospital consumer assessment of healthcare providers and systems). This 27-item patient satisfaction survey acts as a hospital “report card,” assessing everything from the cleanliness of the hospital rooms to pain relief during the hospital stay. It is sent randomly to adult medical, surgical, and maternity care patients between two days and six weeks following discharge.

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Patient Education

The Three Ts for Improving Continuity of Care

On July 27, 2015

Continuity of care – the coordination and integration of a patient’s medical information and care across all providers and settings – is becoming an increasing focus in the quest to improve patient outcomes and achieve cost savings. A Johns Hopkins University study published in this month’s JAMA Internal Medicine found that poor continuity of care results in overuse of unnecessary diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and is costing the U.S. billions each year. In an analysis of 1.2 million...

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Patient Education

Quiet in the Hospital: Improving Patient Satisfaction and Outcomes

On February 27, 2015

Hospitals can be noisy places. From overhead paging to middle of the night vitals checks, for many patients a hospital can be a place of great unrest. hospital_quietAnd research tells us that not only does hospital noise disturb a patient’s sleep and increase anxiety, but it can also cause blood pressure spikes and interfere with pain management. Noise has become so much of an issue, in fact, that patients are now asked on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems...

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Healthcare Providers, Patient Experience, Patient Loyalty, Care Management

IDEAL Discharge Planning: Smooth Patient Transitions From Hospital to Home

On February 6, 2015

Are you familiar with IDEAL Discharge Planning? The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has created a discharge planning toolkit designed to engage patients and their caregivers and prevent communication gaps between patients and healthcare providers. The program is one part of a holistic evidence-based initiative to place the patient at the center of care, entitled a Guide to Patient and Family Engagement in Hospital Quality and Safety.

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Healthcare Providers, Patient Experience, Patient Loyalty, Care Management

Project RED: A Hospital Readmission Reduction Program That Works

On October 24, 2014

Is your hospital trying to improve its 30-day readmissions rate? Deconstructing your discharge plan may be the answer. Consider Project RED (Re-Engineered Discharge), piloted by Boston University Medical Center and funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The program has already helped nearly 300 U.S. hospitals improve their discharge processes, resulting in significant readmission reductions at many sites.

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Healthcare Providers, Patient Experience, Patient Loyalty, Care Management

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