Despite considerable improvements in patient safety, an unacceptable number of medical errors still occur at the local and national level. That’s the finding of the report released in June by the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety, a Boston-based advocacy group started in 2004 by the state...
Many primary care physicians have decreased their hospital activity and instead focus on their ambulatory-based community practice. Financial factors and lifestyle choices are often behind such changes to a physician's practice. Although these physicians' ties to the hospital are weakened, many...
Committees of any kind often include a variety of participants and viewpoints, so a set of rules for participation must be set prior to the meeting. It’s especially important for the medical staff committee members themselves to establish these rules in order to achieve consensus and ensure...
More than 70% of heath data breaches in the past decade involved sensitive demographic or financial information, leaving 159 million people vulnerable to identity theft and fraud, according to a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
While it is human to err, there are some mistakes in the credentialing process that can easily be avoided. Leslie Cox, BS, MHA, CPMSM, CPCS, former senior director at Banner Health’s credentialing verification office in Phoenix, describes four common errors that can result when the credentialing...
Effective meetings rely on a well-planned agenda. Standing meetings often include the same agenda items each month, which aids the planning process; any follow-up from previous meetings should also be included. The chair of each committee must sign off on the agenda prior to each scheduled...
The president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association is lobbying state lawmakers to fund more residency positions. Larry Bookman, MD, says that increasing the number of residencies in the state will hopefully increase the number of physicians practicing in the state.
Hospital visits spike before and after first-time shelter use, according to a new study published in Health Affairs. The research, which looked at adult first-time shelter users in New York City, found that 39%...
When a concern with a pracititoner surfaces, always think, "What if this goes to a fair hearing?" Keep the following tips in mind throughout all professional review activities, even if a concern is not currently present. Issues sometimes surface much later, so you want to be confident that...
