One in Three Nursing Home Patients Are Harmed By Medical Errors

A recent government survey found that approximately one-third of patients who were discharged from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities, were harmed by treatments they received in the facilities. Most of the incidents could have been prevented, according to the report, which was conducted by the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, Office of the Inspector General.

The survey was based on a large sampling of Medicare patients discharged from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities during a one-year period from 2011-2012, NPR reports. Problems observed in the nursing homes included errors related to patient monitoring, and medication errors.

Approximately 60 percent of nursing home residents were harmed by their treatment were readmitted to the hospital as a result, and the report estimates that such readmissions cost Medicare about $2.8 billion a year.

The American Health Care Association, which represents the nursing home industry, responded to the report, telling NPR that this study was conducted before the Association’s quality improvement initiative, which has been showing progress in skilled nursing facilities across the country.

An INQRI-funded study led by Linda Flynn and Dong-Churl Suh examined the “Impact of Nursing Structures and Processes on Medication Errors.” The multidisciplinary research team identified changes in nursing care processes needed to prevent medication errors as well as adjustments in nurse staffing and the practice environment that can facilitate interception of such errors.

Interdisciplinary Study Indicates Poor Communication During Hospital to Nursing Home Transition Can Harm Patient Health

Transitional care has garnered significant attention since INQRI's own Mary Naylor conducted her ground-breaking research into the care older patients with multiple chronic conditions received during the transition from acute care to home or another care setting and developed the Transitional Care Model. Now, a study led by nurse researcher Barbara King and geriatrician Amy Kind reveals that the transition from hospital to nursing home is often difficult because of poor communication between staff at those institutions.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, reveals that nurses in skilled nursing facilities report that difficult transitions are the norm because they receive little information about their incoming patients. Adverse consequences that were a result of this poor communication included: increased risk of medication errors, delayed efforts to mobilize patients, and time wasted trying to obtain information that should have been shared. The nurses who participated in focus groups and surveys for this study reported that they felt their credibility and the credibility of the nursing home were undermined because of communications failures.

Several INQRI studies have examined the ways nurses can improve transitional care, including a study by Cynthia Corbett and Stephen Setter exploring the role of the home health care nurse in medication management; and a translational study by Nancy Hanrahan and Phyllis Solomon adapting the Transitional Care Model for people with serious mental illness in public managed care.

Read more about the King/Kind study here.

Ohio Medicaid Program Incentivizes High Quality Care For Nursing Homes

Starting last month, Ohio' Medicaid program altered its payment procedures to reflect the current trend of moving slowly away from a fee-for-service scheme to adapt to pay-for-performance reimbursement schemes. Ohio's new payment policy links approximately 10% of all Medicaid reimbursements for nursing homes to a wide range of quality measures including, patient satisfaction, rate of errors and nurse staffing levels.

To read more about this initiative, head over to Kaiser Health News for a more thorough explanation of this, and similar programs.

NPs Make Perfect Sense for Nursing Homes

Last Friday, Steven Spearie, of the MetroWest Daily News, discussed the growing roles of nurse practitioners (NPs) in nursing homes. As we have previously discussed in our blog, NPs provide high-quality while also creating a strong bond with patients. Additionally, health care delivered by NPs is less costly and can help close the gap in provider shortages in many sectors of health care around the country.

Click here to read the full article.

Music in Nursing Homes and Its Positive Effect

We present you with two different news stories today describing the impact that music has on geriatric residents in nursing homes.

The first story, featured on National Public Radio's, All Things Considered, detailed a documentary about the introduction of music to nursing home residents with dementia. Music had a profound effect on the mood and demeanor of these residents and contrary to what some thought would further isolate dementia residents, the personalized music playlists actually increased the social interaction staff had with the residents.

Click here to read more and view a video about this story.

Related to this story, Margaret Gillerman, reporting for STLToday.com, discussed a student project titled, "Smiles with Music". The program, which enlists teen volunteers to bring music to nursing homes and hospice care, has been viewed as a great success by nursing home residents and their family members. Family members have witnessed the positive effects of the students' visits and in doing so, have created a program for other students to participate in.

Click here to read more about the "Smiles with Music" program.