HANYS Patient Safety Profiles Offer Lessons Learned in Quality Improvement

The Healthcare Association of New York State has released its Leading the Quest for Quality: 2011 Profiles in Quality and Patient Safety, which includes hospitals' quality improvement "success stories."

The 2011 profiles are divided into four categories: clinical care, operations, patient safety and specialty care. Each healthcare provider's profile includes a description of its quality improvement project, the outcomes and lessons learned.

 

Sign up for our FREE E-Weekly for more coverage like this sent to your inbox!

For instance, Aurelia Osborn Fox Memorial Hospital found an average 47 percent of its surgical patients were hypothermic as they entered the hospital's post-anesthesia care unit. The hospital determined several factors contributing to patients' hypothermia and implemented remedies, including new thermometers and forced air warming gowns.

The hospital has maintained a normothermia rate of more than 95 percent since these measures were put in place.

Related Articles on Quality Improvement:

Lessons Learned After 5,000 Accreditations: Q&A With Dr. Jack Egnatinsky of AAAHC

Kaiser Permanente Shares 6-Part Continuous Improvement Process

Benefits of Involvement in a Patient Safety Organization: Q&A With Melinda Malecki of Cook County Health & Hospitals System