#134 – HEALTHCARE @ RISK – UNDERSTANDING CONTEXT – TED SCHMIDT

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00141In an effort to better understand the “context” of the environment in our hospitals, we conducted some basic research. Our results, though mostly unscientific, do bring us to our current state in healthcare. We considered the different influences on how we practice medicine, how we run our hospitals (including most importantly, how our hospitals get paid) and the influences of technology and innovation. Here is a brief synopsis of what we found. Continue reading

#130 – RBT IN HEALTHCARE: PROCESS METABOLISM – TED SCHMIDT

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00141Process metabolism is a concocted term to describe and hopefully understand how our processes work in their environment. It’s a concept that we need to begin to embrace if we want to improve our patient safety. Embracing and understanding process metabolism in our high-risk processes will allow for better process design and therefore yield more reliable results. Continue reading

#126 – PROCESS DESIGN FOR PATIENT SAFETY – TED SCHMIDT

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00141Recently, I wrote about the benefits of using the SIPOC diagram for process identification and process control.   As a profession, we still struggle with this concept of process approach or process management. We too often revert back to our old practices of addressing issues by revising our procedures and conducting training on the newly revised procedure. We should be smart enough not to keep doing the same things and expect different results. Continue reading

#120 – RISK BASED THINKING: PATIENT SAFETY THROUGH ACCREDITATION – TED SCHMIDT

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00141This past week, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services  (CMS) identified 758 hospitals that have high rates of patient safety issues. As a result, their 2016 Medicare reimbursements are being reduced by 1%. This is the second year for this federal mandate and there are over 400 (over 50%) repeat hospitals. The CMS program is entitled “Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program”. The name alone is very telling. Continue reading

#119 – IMPLEMENTING VALUE ADDED AUDITING IN HEALTHCARE – TED SCHMIDT

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0014 “We need help with our audit program”. “Our internal auditing is expensive and leadership wants it to show value”. And finally, “Our auditors will audit where they know they’ll find the known problems”.

These are quotes that we hear routinely with DNVGL hospitals. These statements are coming from the individuals who are in charge of the audit program, the internal auditors, and of course, leadership. Continue reading