Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Medication reconciliation at an academic medical center: Implementation of a comprehensive program from admission to discharge

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:31:56 GMT

A multidisciplinary team developed a new process for the pharmacist to obtain an extensive medication history on hospital admission, and then reconcile medication histories using a discharge medication reconciliation report generated by a electronic medical record medication documentation tool. Pharmacists received intensive training and hospitalwide multidisciplinary education was provided. The authors conclude that a pharmacy-driven multidisciplinary admission history and medication reconciliation process reduced medication errors from 90 percent to 47 percent on the surgical unit, and from 57 percent to 33 percent on the medicine unit.

Improvement Advisor Program March 2010

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:47:22 GMT

A ten-month development and support program designed to develop Improvement Advisors who will provide improvement expertise and leadership to their own health care organizations.

Disclosure and Apology: What's Missing? Advancing Programs That Support Clinicians

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:40:55 GMT

This report gives guidance to health care organizations for establishing programs that provide emotional support to clinicians and staff members following adverse events. The report was developed as a result of a day-long learning event at which physicians, nurses, risk managers, patient safety officers, health care executives, claims representatives, employee assistance program support staff, and others gathered to share experiences and better practices.

Breakthrough Series College Spring 2010

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:09:00 GMT

This three-day program focused on all aspects of the IHI Breakthrough Series methodology is designed to help organizations rapidly spread improvements.

CDC Guideline for Prevention and Control of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (2009)

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:33:00 GMT

This 2009 guideline updates and expands the original Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guideline for Prevention of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI) published in 1981.

Perfecting Emergency Department Operations February 2010

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:52:00 GMT

This two-day seminar provides participants with a set of tools to use and apply in their emergency departments (EDs) to reduce costs and improve patient throughput in the hospital. Participants will be guided through a series of topics critical for efficient ED operations, including how to optimize ED patient flow, operations, and service.

Improvement Advisor Professional Development Program September 2010

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:09:00 GMT

A ten-month development and support program designed to develop Improvement Advisors who will provide improvement expertise and leadership to their own health care organizations.

The power of apology

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:17:00 GMT

An apology to the patient following an adverse event can bring comfort to the patient, forgiveness to the health practitioner, and help restore trust in their relationship. Yet, for many practitioners saying "I'm sorry" remains a difficult thing to do. This article explores the key elements of a full apology and when they should be used, and how to support practitioners in making an apology to patients who have been harmed.

Patient Safety Executive Development Program March 2010

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:16:36 GMT

An intensive seven-day executive development program to help prepare those responsible for safety to be leaders of strong, effective patient safety programs.

Hospital to Home

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:11:00 GMT

An initiative of the American College of Cardiology and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Hospital to Home (H2H) is a national improvement initiative that aims to reduce unnecessary readmissions and improve care transitions for cardiovascular patients. The goal is to reduce all-cause readmission rates among patients discharged with heart failure or acute myocardial infarction by 20 percent by December 2012.

2009 Press Releases

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:37:26 GMT

Passport Member Directory

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:23:00 GMT

One of the goals of Passport is to create a community of like-minded health professionals. The Passport Member Directory contains contact information for fellow members who have made themselves available to be contacted by other members.

Profiles of High-Performing Family- and Patient-Centered Academic Medical Centers: Case Studies

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:20:00 GMT

This series of six case study reports documents how academic medical centers can achieve high levels of patient- and family-centered care; developed by The Picker Institute (Camden, Maine, USA).

Keynote: Uwe Reinhardt, PhD

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:49:00 GMT

Keynote: Uwe Reinhardt, PhD

Quality Innovation in Nursing

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:46:00 GMT

Special Interest Keynote Session E: Quality Innovation in Nursing
Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, MS, FAAN; Pamela Thompson, RN, MS, FAAN

Federal Leadership in Transforming Health Care: The Health Information Technology Example

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:42:00 GMT

Special Interest Keynote Session D: Federal Leadership in Transforming Health Care: The Health Information Technology Example
David Blumenthal, MD, MPP

Keynote: Marshall Ganz

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:37:00 GMT

Keynote: Marshall Ganz

Keynote: Sekou Andrews

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:34:00 GMT

Keynote: Sekou Andrews

Great Care from a Physician and Patient Perspective

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:32:00 GMT

Special Interest Keynote Session C: Great Care from a Physician and Patient Perspective: It's Not How Much You Know, But How Much You Care
David H. Gustafson, PhD; Robert M. Patrick, MD, MBA

Achieving the Triple Aim

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:30:00 GMT

Mini Keynote Session B: Achieving the Triple Aim
Mary Brainerd; Brian Rank; Moderator: Thomas Nolan, PhD

Lessons from Leaders of Exceptionally High-Performing Health Care Systems: A Panel Discussion

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:28:00 GMT

Special Interest Keynote Session A: Lessons from Leaders of Exceptionally High-Performing Health Care Systems: A Panel Discussion
James Reinertsen, MD

Keynote: Donald Berwick, MD, MPP

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:57:00 GMT

Donald Berwick National Forum keynote

21st Annual National Forum On Demand Video Landing Page

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:37:00 GMT

Landing page for the 21st Annual National Forum On Demand

Becoming a Writer: An Interview with Pauline W. Chen, MD (Part Two)

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:45:00 GMT

What advice would you give to someone interested in writing? (Part two in a series of interviews with surgeon and The New York Times columnist Pauline W. Chen.)

Becoming a Writer: An Interview with Pauline W. Chen, MD (Part One)

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:38:00 GMT

How did you become a surgeon and a writer? (Part one in a series of interviews with surgeon and The New York Times columnist Pauline W. Chen.)

Informed Patient Institute

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:37:00 GMT

The Informed Patient Institute (IPI) is an independent, nonprofit organization that rates websites that provide safety and quality performance information about health care providers and professionals. IPI does not rate individual health facilities or practitioners, but they tell consumers who does. IPI also advocates for making more useful health care quality information available to consumers.

Changing systems, changing minds: Improving health care with IT

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:54:50 GMT

Is your organization embracing health information technology (HIT) as a driver of improvement? This article describes the role of health care leaders in supporting the use of HIT to improve the care system, and suggests a collaborative approach for bringing the worlds of HIT and improvement together to identify, share and spread best practices.

Chapter Call Schedule

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:47:41 GMT

Chapter leader's of the IHI Open School, come together to share your progress and get ideas on how to run your chapter.

Check a Box. Save a Life: The First Global Sprint to Improve Health Care (Video)

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:15:00 GMT

Our leaders look to us to spread the importance of changing the quality of care for our patients. On October 22^nd, we held two national webcasts to discuss the first opportunity for all Chapters to unite for a common cause, help spread the WHO Safe Surgery Checklist, and work to implement, measure, or raise awareness of its use.