Health Care Quality
Patient Safety is Number One
Ask just about anyone at Cincinnati Children’s what is most important and you’re likely to get the same answer – safety! There is nothing that we do that is more important than providing a safe environment for our patients and › Continue Reading
IBD Collaboration Continues to Gain Traction
One of the exciting things about my role at Cincinnati Children’s is being part of initiatives that are truly changing the way we approach healthcare and improve the quality of life for children and their families. A great example is › Continue Reading
Not long ago, hospitals worked independently and information about medical advances in patient care was shared only in professional journals or at medical conferences. Today, however, evidence-based collaboration is the name of the quality improvement game that’s advancing child health › Continue Reading
Lessons from an aircraft carrier
One of the defining elements of our culture at Cincinnati Children’s is a nearly fanatical focus on safety. While we’re proud of our record and the expertise we’ve developed over the years, we also believe we can learn from others. › Continue Reading
‘Best choice’ Berwick named head of CMS
We’re pleased to write that today the right person has been appointed head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and will be thrust into the middle of the efforts to reshape health care in the United States. Pediatrician Donald › Continue Reading
Statewide Program Significantly Reduces Inappropriate Scheduling of Births before 39 Weeks Cincinnati Children’s News Release A statewide Ohio program significantly reduced the monthly rate of inappropriately scheduled births before 39 weeks gestation, helping to avoid expensive neonatal intensive care unit › Continue Reading
A third of Ohio children with special health care needs have unstable or inadequate insurance coverage despite the fact that they may qualify for government health programs. Our Child Policy Research Center has analyzed data about Ohio children with special › Continue Reading
Don Berwick, President Obama’s choice to lead the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, faces many challenges. Transformation of health care is not for the faint of heart. But there is very good evidence that the reduction in cost and › Continue Reading
Don Berwick: Just the thinking health care needs
It’s been a pleasure these past few weeks to see all the praise being heaped on our friend Don Berwick, who is President Obama’s choice to lead the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Sometimes it’s hard to argue with › Continue Reading
There was a time that when the feds talked about quality in terms of Medicare and Medicaid, they were referring to fraud. If you weren’t stealing, you ran a quality program. Times have changed, thankfully. It’s still wrong to steal, › Continue Reading
Dozens of speakers at the NACHRI spring meeting, Creating Connections, are engaging representatives from children’s hospitals and related institutions in a vigorous dialogue this week on topics from quality and safety to health care reform, transparency, working in partnership and, › Continue Reading
A checklist manifesto of our own
Atul Gawande’s recently released book, The Checklist Manifesto, caught our attention last week as Dr. Gawande was making the media rounds. We’re clearly not in the business of reviewing books (but here’s one courtesy of the New York Times, if › Continue Reading
‘Follow your heart and you can’t go wrong’
It’s not every day a group of doctors sits quietly in a room and listens to patients, parents and peers tell them what they think is wrong about the way the care is provided. But that’s how a group of doctors that › Continue Reading
Usually when we talk about something being disruptive, it’s a bad thing. The wreck on the highway “disrupts” the morning commute. The snowstorm “disrupts” air travel. People on laptops and cell phones “disrupt” meetings. But how about if we could › Continue Reading
Something very significant happened early Sunday morning at Cincinnati Children’s. Something the patients and their families didn’t even notice. But something that was a major step toward making their care safer and more effective. The techies among us call it › Continue Reading
A Quality New Year
The Ohio Department of Health started off the New Year on the right foot by launching a consumer-friendly website allowing people to compare quality (and eventually pricing) data of Ohio hospitals. The ODH’s new Ohio Hospital Compare website went live › Continue Reading
Who’s in charge? Family-centered care and reform
Are our politicians ignoring moms in the health care debate? According to a new survey from the blog “Why Moms Rule,” women at least feel that way. Women are responsible for most health care decisions (92 percent of their own; › Continue Reading
In this space recently, Dr. Steve (our safety officer, Steve Muething, MD) wrote about our patient safety journey. He did so by reminding us at the Tuesday morning Grand Rounds that we are not perfect, but that we’re making progress › Continue Reading
Leaping to the top
The results of the annual Leapfrog Hospital Survey are in and Cincinnati Children’s is tops! Only eight pediatric institutions and 45 hospitals of any kind were named one of this year’s Top Hospitals. Our rigorous quality and safety work continues › Continue Reading
What a day!
Today’s a special day in Cincinnati, even though most people in our fair city don’t know it. Today is James M. Anderson Day, as proclaimed by our mayor, Mark Mallory. It is so named to mark the accomplishments, and to › Continue Reading
