CT Center for Patient Safety Newsletter

January 2014

In This Issue

Questioning Protocol

Best Disruptive Writings

Institute for Healthcare Improvement

CTCPS Conducts Workshop

Questioning Protocol

by Randi Redmond Oster

Exciting new book from one of our members.

What happens when a woman's son is diagnosed with a chronic disease - Crohn's - and she has to put the brakes on her comfortable life in suburbia to deal with this health crisis? When that mom is an engineer, holds an MBA and is obsessed with processes, Questioning Protocol happens.

Randi Redmond Oster shares the tips, tools and tricks from her corporate experience, engineering skills and compassion for her son to navigate the broken health care system. Learn how she maintains control when the healthcare crisis seems overwhelming. Discover how she creates a high performing healthcare team focused on her son. Understand how she manipulates the hierarchy of the healthcare system to help improve the care her son received. See how she finds ways to feel grateful, even when her world seems upside down.

Questioning Protocol is a healthcare solutions book from a mom's perspective. Now, others can use the same techniques to help cope with a health care crisis. For additional information, visit Randi's website at www.RandiRedmondOster.com

If you'd like to be notified when the book is released, please email: info@RandiRedmondOster.com

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Dear Members.

Happy New Year. Maybe this is the year we will see the shift to safer patient-centered care. It is frustrating that progress is so slow. But each year, there is increased documentation and exposure of the realities behind the care we receive.

Leah Binder, CEO of the Leapfrog Group, wrote an article for Forbes Magazine addressing "The Best Disruptive writings of 2013." She defined disruptive writing as change that gores somebody's ox. I guess Ms. Binder is as frustrated as we are.

But I will list her salient points and I urge you to read the entire article.......

1. Someone Else Pays the Bills

Steve Brill's article "Bitter Pill: Why Medicine Bills are Killing Us." The article pointed out the extreme variations in billing but also the bizarre oddities in how hospitals bill.
An S. Eappen study in the Journal of American Medical Association found that "commercially insured patients were charged an extra $39,000 every time they suffered a surgical infection at one hospital system."

2. Health industries can keep secrets. There is a total lack of transparency assuring that there is little incentive to improve quality and cost.

Francois de Brantes, business leader in Health Affairs argues that feedback loops - available and accurate data- provides continuous pressure for improvement.
John James in the Journal of Patient Safety estimated that between 220,000 and 440,000 die each year from hospital errors.

3. The patient is passive

AARP Magazine - the nation's most widely read publication wrote a patient empowerment article and advised patients how to protect themselves.
Dave deBronkart argues forcefully in "Let Patients Help" that patients must be part of the solution to improved quality.

4. Conventional Wisdom about Delivering Care: the Hollywood portrayal is far from the reality.

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated widespread variation in the skill of surgeons performing the same surgery.
Atul Gawande in a New Yorker article questioned why practitioners do not change the way they deliver care even when new knowledge shows improved care could result.

5. Importance of Public Health. There is an assumption that prevention is important.

An Oregon study found that access to care had no impact on health status.
Employee wellness programs have not shown value

Where does that leave us? We will continue in 2014, as we have in the past to work for meaningful research, transparency and accountability in our delivery system. And that is made possible by your support.

Thank you

Jean

Institute for Healthcare Improvement - 24th National Forum

Maureen Bisognano, President and CEO, in her remarks at the IHI Annual Meeting talked about flipping healthcare. What she meant by that was meeting patient's needs and not providers. The keynotes speeches are available on their website. I urge you to review the nation's thought leader's videos - They are impressive! The question that we are struggling with is how do we get a culture of patient centered care to be the norm?

This picture includes a group of us who attended as guest of the Partnership for Patients. It was exciting - working with other consumers to address the need for a national patient driven movement to improve outcomes and safety of patient care.

CTCPS Conducts Workshop at 3rd Annual PPAI Conference

CTCPS has speakers available to present on many different topics. Last month, Jean Rexford and Lisa Freeman teamed up and conducted a workshop at the Professional Patient Advocates 3rd Annual Workshop in Orlando, FL.

Our presentation, "Engaging Patients: Improving Patient Safety" was geared to the hospital tract and focused on identifying effective strategies for engaging patients, establishing a clear connection between engaging patients and improved patient safety and identifying the barriers to engaging patients. Our workshop was well attended and in keeping with our mission, CTCPS expects to continue pursuing education and professional development through our commitment to participate on and conduct more panels, workshops and presentations along this and other relevant themes.

If you are interested in having a CTCPS speaker at your event, please contact Jean Rexford at JeanRexford@aol.com.