The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has produced its eighth annual National Healthcare Quality Report and National Healthcare Disparities Report, according to an agency news release.
In the reports, the agency outlines various national priorities, such as preventive services and patient safety, and details successful strategies from the agency's Health Care Innovations Exchange for how to achieve those national priorities.
For example, Wayne Action Teams for Community Health in North Carolina created new processes to identify individuals in need of colorectal cancer screening and smoking cessation education by forming partnerships with community-based organizations and providers. Patients participated in ongoing performance-monitoring and evaluation. More than one year later, colorectal cancer screening rose from 16 percent to 98 percent. Smokers receiving cessation education increased from 66 percent to 98 percent.
To increase patient safety at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Michigan, standardized, nurse-enforced protocols were developed to prevent catheter-related bloodstream infections, including tools to assist in following these
protocols and an education program for physicians and nurses. As a result, catheter-related bloodstream infections were reduced from 9.6 to 3 per 1,000 central line days, delaying the onset of infections in those who develop them. The reduction in such infections has also led to substantial cost-savings.
Read the National Healthcare Quality Report and National Healthcare Disparities Report.
Read other coverage about AHRQ:
- AHRQ to Survey Medicaid Providers on Challenges for Meeting Meaningful Use
- AHRQ Publishes Common Formats for Adverse Event Reporting on Health Information Technology
- Two AHRQ Websites Relaunched
In the reports, the agency outlines various national priorities, such as preventive services and patient safety, and details successful strategies from the agency's Health Care Innovations Exchange for how to achieve those national priorities.
For example, Wayne Action Teams for Community Health in North Carolina created new processes to identify individuals in need of colorectal cancer screening and smoking cessation education by forming partnerships with community-based organizations and providers. Patients participated in ongoing performance-monitoring and evaluation. More than one year later, colorectal cancer screening rose from 16 percent to 98 percent. Smokers receiving cessation education increased from 66 percent to 98 percent.
To increase patient safety at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Michigan, standardized, nurse-enforced protocols were developed to prevent catheter-related bloodstream infections, including tools to assist in following these
protocols and an education program for physicians and nurses. As a result, catheter-related bloodstream infections were reduced from 9.6 to 3 per 1,000 central line days, delaying the onset of infections in those who develop them. The reduction in such infections has also led to substantial cost-savings.
Read the National Healthcare Quality Report and National Healthcare Disparities Report.
Read other coverage about AHRQ:
- AHRQ to Survey Medicaid Providers on Challenges for Meeting Meaningful Use
- AHRQ Publishes Common Formats for Adverse Event Reporting on Health Information Technology
- Two AHRQ Websites Relaunched
