摘要:

Benchmarking uses measures of comparative performance to develop an understanding of what is possible and how others have achieved higher levels of performance. Companies measure each other's performance, identify the best performer out of a group, and then seek to identify and understand the practices that can improve both clinical and administrative operations. When a powerful consortium of Cincinnati businesses began addressing ways to lower the cost of employee health care in a project known as the Iameter study, the University of Cincinnati Hospital joined the effort to identify and improve major cost factors. One aspect highlighted by this review is the length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The results of the study were incorporated into an NICU early discharge program, which has had a number of positive effects in both patient care quality and cost containment.

ISSN:1057-3631    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

The benchmarking process has been used extensively to evaluate and improve performance in business and industry. There is currently increasing interest in utilizing this process in the health care field to maximize efficiency and improve patient outcomes. The article defines benchmarking in health care and lists characteristics of the benchmarking process. The process of conducting a clinical benchmarking project aimed at improving outcomes for patients with congestive heart failure is described and determined to be an effective means of reducing costs and improving both patient outcomes and quality of care.

ISSN:1057-3631    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Benchmarks are tools that can be compared across companies and industries to measure process output. The key to benchmarking is understanding the composition of the benchmark and whether the benchmarks consist of homogeneous groupings. Performance measures expand the concept of benchmarking and cross organizational boundaries to include factors that are strategically important to organizational success. Incorporating performance measures into a balanced score card will provide a comprehensive tool to evaluate organizational results.

ISSN:1057-3631    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Collaborative endeavors are particularly attractive in a time when resources are under extensive demand, but for organizations to be successful at collaboration, many shared values and qualities are necessary. In 1992, a hospital and a vendor of therapeutic bed surfaces entered into a collaborative partnership to test clinical indicator ability to track skin care outcomes. The vendor contributed major funding for the project, a national database from which clinical indicators on pressure ulcers were determined, and data processing and analysis. The hospital provided project coordination, clinical knowledge, data collectors, and access to patients. The article describes the process, problems, and benefits of collaboration and underscores the need for a trusting psychological climate, strong mutual interest in the project, clearly stated goals with resources to meet them, collaborator consideration of each other as peers, and skill in tension management if collaboration is to be successful.

ISSN:1057-3631    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

In response to the consumer movement, health care organizations have become interested in obtaining feedback through face-to-face contacts with the people using their products and services. Focus groups are one qualitative research method of obtaining rich information within a social context. The article discusses the purpose, design, and methodology of focus groups, and a case example is given. Focus groups can add to existing knowledge about how well services are being delivered or what new products might be developed in the future.

ISSN:1057-3631    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

The article describes a unique decentralized wound care program instituted in a nursing home care unit of a Veterans Affairs hospital. This decentralized, interdisciplinary approach to wound care has been effective in reducing the incidence and prevalence of pressure ulcers in a nursing home population over the last 2 years. Prevention was a major focus of the program. The Braden scale was used to identify patients at risk for pressure ulcer formation; proper measures were introduced to reduce identified risk. This collaborative team effort led to improved patient care and decreased incidence and prevalence of pressure ulcers in this population.

ISSN:1057-3631    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

The article describes a study that measured, over a 3-month period, staffing problems, including turnover rates; nurse incidents, including absenteeism, back injuries, and needle sticks; and patient incidents, including falls and medication errors. The self-reported stress of the nurses caring for these patients was recorded over the same 3-month period. Data showed that a relatively strong relationship exists between a hospital unit's Stress Continuum Scale (SCS) and the occurrence of patient incidents. The relationship between the SCS and personal incidents and nurse injuries appears weak, as does the relationship between staff turnover and stress. Lagging staff turnover by 1 month resulted in a moderate association with the SCS, however.

ISSN:1057-3631    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

As community-based health care services continue to grow, quality management programs for new, nontraditional settings are being developed. The article describes a quality management program implemented in a nursing center in an urban, multicultural high school. The three components of the program—formulation of the quality management plan, the development of written structure, process, and outcome standards, and the development of a monitoring and evaluation plan—are summarized. The application of the principles and practices of quality management to a school-based nursing center has provided challenges, opportunities, and rewards for all involved.

ISSN:1057-3631    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Many patients in acute care hospitals experience constipation, yet the literature on constipation focuses on long-term care and does not provide tools for describing and analyzing bowel management from the perspective of health care professionals or patients. The article describes the development of a bowel management task force at one acute care hospital and the initial steps taken to improve clinical quality in this area. A multifaceted approach was used to collect baseline data on practice, expectations, and problems related to bowel management. Valuable data were obtained from both patients and health care providers that have provided direction for improving clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction.

ISSN:1057-3631    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

As the demographics of the United States continue to change to include more foreign nationals, nursing professionals will need to become increasingly aware of multicultural issues. Developing a greater cultural awareness of a particular client population can aid health care providers in improved caregiving. An interdisciplinary multicultural patient care team (IMPCT) was formed to enlarge the scope of nursing practice by educating nurses and other support staff about culturally diverse groups. The purpose of the IMPCT was to promote high-quality care to culturally diverse patients and their families. An IMPCT led by an advanced practice nurse would assist nursing staff in developing cultural awareness and sensitivity and would enhance nurses' ability to provide a holistic approach to nursing care.

ISSN:1057-3631    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1996

数据来源: OVID