Kaiser Permanente honored three projects for contributions to improving patient safety and quality, according to News-Medical.
Here are four points:
1. The James A. Vohs Award and David M. Lawrence Patient Safety Award honor those who greatly improve patient safety.
2. One of the projects involves an online tool, created in Southern California, which allows patients self-monitoring capabilities. Users of the tool were 60 percent more likely to receive Pap smears than non-users.
3. Another project worked to decrease ICU admissions for sepsis. Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center in Clackamas, Ore., offered a different way for sepsis patients to receive treatment outside of the ICU, resulting in a 50 percent decrease in ICU admissions.
4. The third project targets diabetic retinopathy care. In Southern California, diabetic patients can receive examinations of their retinal photographs, resulting in referrals to specialists if complications are detected. This service doubled the diagnoses for retinopathy in diabetic patients.
