 An e-NEWSLETTER from Quality Insights Quality Innovation Network September 15, 2015 |
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 NOT ONE, BUT TWO WEBSITES
Quality Insights hosts a website that is open to all healthcare providers, offering resources and events for all provider settings.
In addition, we offer a participant-only website called My Quality Insights.
My Quality Insights offers additional information and resources which include:
- News - related to Care Coordination and Medication Safety
- Quality Insights Events - easy access to event listings, registration and content
- Discussion Forum - participating providers can discuss and share care coordination and medication safety successes and information
- Resources - access to care coordination and medication safety tools
- My QI University - offers interactive, on-demand learning activities available 24/7 for staff. CEUs for nurses are available for each course. Care coordination and medication safety e-learn activities will be posted quarterly.
This website is available to participating providers only. Participants will be added beginning in October 2015. You will receive an e-mail invitation from "noreply-qualityinsights.org" that will include a link to access the website.
To enroll, you and your staff will each need to set up an account with My Quality Insights. Please send staff names, e-mail addresses and organization name to your state contact.
My Quality Insights is powered by Tomorrow's HealthCare from the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare initiative (PRHI).
Be on the lookout for your invite, coming this October.
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medication-related adverse events in nursing homes: How can they be prevented?
 The February 2014 Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report, "Adverse Events in Skilled Nursing Facilities: National Incidence Among Medicare Beneficiaries," found that one in three skilled nursing facility (SNF) residents were harmed by an adverse event or temporary harm event within the first 35 days of a SNF stay, and that 37 percent of those events were related to medication. Excessive bleeding was the second most frequent cause of medication related adverse events causing harm ranging from hospitalization to death. A recent ProPublica report stated, "...from 2011 to 2014, at least 165 nursing home residents were hospitalized or died after errors involving Coumadin� or its generic version, warfarin."
In response, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has developed and begun pilot testing the Focused Survey on Medication Safety Systems to look at nursing practice around high-risk and problem-prone medications, such as Coumadin. CMS collaborated with the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) and the OIG to develop a tool which includes potentially preventable medication-related adverse events, risk factors, triggers, and probes to assist surveyors in investigating actual and potential adverse events. The tool also evaluates whether systems are in place to prevent medication-related adverse events.
Quality Insights is Here to Help Quality Insights is working with nursing homes in Care Coordination Communities to reduce adverse events related to three drug categories:
- Anticoagulants
- Diabetic medications
- Opioids
To learn more or join a Care Coordination Community, please reach out to your state contact.
Source: Center for Clinical Standards and Quality/Survey & Certification Group, 7/17/15, Ref: S&C: 15-47-NH.
PALLIATIVE AND HOSPICE CARE: KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
Many patients, families, and even healthcare providers cannot differentiate between palliative and hospice care programs. It is important that healthcare providers understand and be able to explain these differences to others, so they can be supportive of patient/family decisions
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Palliative Care
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Hospice Care
| Palliative care is appropriate for seriously ill patients at any stage of advanced illness.
| As a Medicare benefit, hospice care is only available to patients with a life expectancy of six months or less.
| Palliative care focused on relief of pain and suffering while improving quality of life.
| Hospice focuses on care and comfort to patients nearing the end of life. Its services also extend to the patient's family.
| | Patients receiving palliative care can also continue to receive curative treatment. In fact, the palliative care team will coordinate the care provided by members of the patient's medical team in order to prevent fragmentation of services/treatment. | Patients with hospice care cannot also receive curative treatment, since such treatment is either seen as futile or the patient no longer desires this approach. While Medicare and other insurances will pay for medication and supplies, efforts to cure or prolong life are usually not covered.
| | Palliative care does not offer bereavement services, but patients may transition to hospice care when approaching the end of life. | Bereavement care for the family is a significant hospice benefit. |
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SEPTEMBER LAN EVENT
Topic: Patient and Family Engagement
Date: Thursday, September 24, 2015 - 2:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. CT
Quality Insights Quality Innovation Network invites you to join the September Open Office Hours session. This monthly event gives our partners the opportunity to have a direct Q&A session with the Quality Insights Care Coordination & Medication Safety team across our five state region.
REGISTRATION
 Registration is required for this session, so please REGISTER NOW. Once you have registered you will receive a confirmation e-mail which will contain all the login information needed to join this session. OPEN OFFICE HOURS ARCHIVE
The presentation slides, recordings and transcripts for past Open Office Hours sessions are posted on the Archived Event page on the Quality Insights website. Check it out today. Open Office Hours sessions will be held the 4th Thursday of every month.
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STAY CONNECTED WITH QUALITY INSIGHTS
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