Patient Flow E-Newsletter
Volume 3, Issue 2
Thursday, August 3, 2006
In this Issue:
Innovations The Institute of Medicine's (IOM) "To Err is Human" report, issued in 1999, brought a tidal wave of media coverage that questioned hospital procedures, ushered in an era of increased government scrutiny and caught the attention of top brass at hospitals across America. Experts agree that Maryland was one of the first states to respond by tackling the hospital error issue head-on, and the Maryland Patient Safety Center continues to lead the way.
Creating a 'Culture of Safety' in Maryland's Emergency Departments: A Profile of the Maryland Patient Safety Center & Its ED Collaborative
Perspectives
Interview with John Lumpkin, MD, MPH, on recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report that cites America's Emergency Departments as "at the Breaking Point"
Last month's IOM report cast a spotlight on the growing crisis in America's EDs, citing that our nation's hospitals are ill-equipped to handle the massive casualties that could result from a terrorist attack or pandemic. John Lumpkin, M.D., M.P.H., an emergency physician who leads the Health Care Group for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, shares his thinking on the report's findings and how our ED crisis may be abated.
New Report
IOM Report: "Hospital-Based Emergency Care: At the Breaking Point"
The Institute of Medicine released a series of three reports on June 14th, 2006 providing evidence that the Nation's emergency medical system as a whole is overburdened, underfunded, and highly fragmented. As a result, patients must wait hours or even days for a hospital bed in many areas. In one of the three reports, "Hospital-Based Emergency Care: At the Breaking Point" investigates the epidemic of overcrowded emergency departments and trauma centers across the nation and the effects this has on the entire healthcare system.
Responses to Your Questions
Shari Welch, MD, elaborates on "Using ED Dashboards and Real-Time Data to Improve Operational Efficiency"
In the Volume 2, Issue 6 E-Newsletter, we featured the article "Using Dashboards and Real-Time Data to Improve Operational Effeciency." Shari Welch, MD, responds to questions submitted by e-newsletter readers.
Recently in the News
Report on Patient Flow and ED Crowding
The National Health Policy Forum, a nonpartisan research and public policy organization at The George Washington University, recently published an issue brief on ED crowding that examines the prevalence, consequences, causes, and potential solutions from a national perspective. The brief synthesizes available research on this issue and discusses fixes relevant to a national policy audience. The Forum also held a meeting for congressional and executive branch health policy staff on July 27th that examined ED crowding and featured Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH, Director of Urgent Matters, as a speaker.
