AARP and Leapfrog Group Identify Some of the Best Safety Innovations in Hospitals

INQRI researchers have developed and tested numerous interventions to improve patient safety and several of those interventions are being implemented today in various health care settings. Patient safety is an ongoing concern and one that receives much-deserved attention. This month's AARP Magazine identifies some of the most innovative programs being implemented in hospitals to prevent errors and improve patient safety. The Leapfrog Group scored the hospitals and created an online tool individuals can use to locate the best scoring  hospitals in their communities.

These are just a few of the practices identified by AARP and Leapfrog:

•  a program through which each day, a nurse assess patients for their fall risks and gives high-risk patient yellow slippers which identify them as being at a high risk for falling;
• bar codes on medications and patients' wristbands to ensure patients receive the right medications;
• a "time out towel" placed on the instrument stand in the operating room to remind staff to follow standardized procedures; and
• a "red zone" prohibiting staff from interrupting nurses who are dispensing medication.

Modern Healthcare Names Top 25 Women in Healthcare

RWJF President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey and Mary Wakefield, an INQRI grantee and current administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration are among Modern Healthcare's Top 25 Women in Healthcare in 2013.

U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder and IHI President and CEO Maureen Bisognano are also among the remarkable and accomplished women on this list.

Press Release: The Leapfrog Group to Report on Hospitals Demonstrating Nursing Excellence

In recognition of a growing body of studies highlighting the key role nurses' play in patient safety, The Leapfrog Group announced they will publicly report on hospitals that have demonstrated nursing excellence on Leapfrog's annual hospital survey. Making the announcement at AARP's Champion Nursing Council and Coalition Meeting in Washington, D.C., Leapfrog's CEO Leah Binder stated, "With this addition to our annual survey, Leapfrog is recognizing the vital role nurses play in patient safety and their strong commitment to transparency. As I visit hospitals across the country, I am constantly finding that the highest performing hospitals, many of Leapfrog's Top Hospitals, have earned the prestigious recognition of Magnet® and nurses are the most vocal supporters of making patient safety and quality information transparent. Our employer members value this designation, and its implications for safety, and believe hospitals deserve recognition when they achieve it."

Click here to read the rest of the press release.

Leapfrog CEO on CPOE

Last week, Leah Binder, the CEO of the Leapfrog Group, was a guest blogger for the Health Affairs blog.  She wrote about her recent experience touring a hospital that had adopted computerized physician order entry (CPOE).  Since Leapfrog had included the adoption of CPOE as one of the first standards on their hospital survey, Binder was thrilled to hear that the hospital's recently adopted CPOE system had already reduced errors, saved time and more importantly, saved lives.

In her post, Binder discusses the "pain" of adopting CPOE and suggests next steps.  Read her post here.

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INQRI is very interested in the work of The Leapfrog Group.  Our grantee team at the Medical University of South Carolina studied and assessed a hospital patient safety reporting initiative implemented by Leapfrog as part of their project, "Linking Processes of Nursing Care and Patient Safety Outcomes: An Analysis of the Cause and Effect of Safe Practice."  Click here to watch a video series of Dr. Lindrooth presenting their study findings.

Watch Leapfrog Group's CEO, Leah Binder, on Quality and Transparency

Click here to watch Leah Binder's interview with Modern Healthcare on quality and transparency. In this interview with Modern Healthcare reporter Jean DerGurahian, Leah reflects on her first year as the CEO at the Leapfrog Group and talks about how Leapfrog's quality measures are different from others.