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´óÏóÊÓƵStats: In-Hospital Sepsis Costs by Hospital Type

The average total hospital cost for sepsis stays was 52 percent higher at public, nonfederal urban hospitals when compared with private, for-profit urban hospitals, ranging from nearly $30,000 at public hospitals to just under $20,000 at for-profit hospitals. (Source: ´óÏóÊÓƵHealthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #308,  [PDF, 1 MB].)

Today's Headlines:

• ´óÏóÊÓƵReleases New MRSA Prevention Toolkit for Intensive and Non-Intensive Care Units.
• Substantial Challenges Exist to Person-Centered Care Planning for Patients With Multiple Chronic Conditions.
• Issue Brief Identifies Obstacles to Diagnostic Excellence in U.S. Rural Healthcare.
• Register Now: November 12 Webinar To Address Healthcare Workforce Burnout.
• ´óÏóÊÓƵStudy Highlights Discrepancies in Medicare Advantage Plan Reimbursement.
• App Helps Clinicians Recommend Best Preventive Services for Patients.
• Highlights From ´¡±á¸é²Ï’s Patient Safety Network.
• ´óÏóÊÓƵin the Professional Literature.

´óÏóÊÓƵReleases New MRSA Prevention Toolkit for Intensive and Non-Intensive Care Units

The new ´óÏóÊÓƵToolkit for MRSA Prevention in ICU & Non-ICU Settings was developed to assist healthcare staff and leadership with improving infection prevention practices and ultimately reducing MRSA rates. MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a highly invasive and deadly multidrug-resistant organism that cannot be effectively treated by many available antimicrobial agents. Preventing MRSA infection and transmission among hospitalized patients is a crucial patient safety priority. The toolkit highlights four key strategies that can have the greatest impact on MRSA prevention: decolonizing patients, decontaminating the clinical environment, preventing person-based transmission and preventing device- and procedure-related infections. Access presentations and training materials for staff, tools and other resources to help healthcare workers prevent transmission of and infection with MRSA.  

Substantial Challenges Exist to Person-Centered Care Planning for Patients With Multiple Chronic Conditions

The nation’s healthcare system faces considerable challenges—including time constraints, inadequate payment and workforce availability—to advancing person-centered care planning for the growing number of individuals living with multiple chronic conditions, according to a new AHRQ-supported study. To better understand the barriers encountered and strategies individuals and organizations use to provide person-centered care planning, researchers analyzed responses to a 2022 Request for Information soliciting input on the topic. During the analysis, they determined that successful adoption of patient-centered care planning will require aligning payment, policy, culture change and implementation strategies. The researchers suggested that insights from the analysis can inform research priorities and implementation efforts to advance person-centered care planning as an integral component of routine care. Access the and a published in JAMA Network Open.

Issue Brief Identifies Obstacles to Diagnostic Excellence in U.S. Rural Healthcare

A new ´óÏóÊÓƵissue brief addresses urgent challenges encountered in U.S. rural healthcare to achieve diagnostic excellence, with a focus on enhancing surgical and specialty care, bolstering care coordination and screening patients for social determinants of health. The brief highlights the substantial impact of diagnostic errors in rural healthcare settings, emphasizes disparities in access to high-quality diagnostic care and underscores the importance of community engagement, regionalization and collaboration among interested parties. Access the new issue brief and others in ´¡±á¸é²Ï’s series exploring diagnostic safety topics.

Register Now: November 12 Webinar To Address Healthcare Workforce Burnout

A webinar on Nov. 12 from noon to 1 p.m. ET will explore factors that contribute to burnout in healthcare organizations and highlight evidence-based interventions to address these challenges. Colin P. West, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine in the Department of Biostatistics and Medical Education at the Mayo Clinic, will share real-life stories that highlight worker experiences and the positive impact of strategies to reduce burnout. The webinar will be sponsored by the National Action Alliance for Patient and Workforce Safety, a public-private collaboration established by ´óÏóÊÓƵon behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services. for the webinar. To learn more about the National Action Alliance, to the initiative’s newsletter, review information from previous webinars, and access tools and resources to improve care.

´óÏóÊÓƵStudy Highlights Discrepancies in Medicare Advantage Plan Reimbursement

Medical diagnoses reported by Medicare Advantage insurance plans led to a significant increase in enrollee risk scores between 2016 and 2021, according to an analysis by ´óÏóÊÓƵstaff in Health Affairs. Medicare Advantage plans have an incentive to find as many diagnoses as possible since their reimbursement is based on the number of enrollee diagnoses submitted in the previous year. In contrast with traditional Medicare, these plans make use of chart reviews and in-home health risk assessments to seek additional diagnoses. By isolating diagnoses identified through these strategies, the author determined that enrollee risk scoring was 6.6 percent higher in 2016 than it would have been using only traditional Medicare strategies. That increase rose to 7.4 percent increase by 2021. Access the .

App Helps Clinicians Recommend Best Preventive Services for Patients

, an app from the , is available to help healthcare professionals identify which screenings, counseling interventions and preventive medications are right for their patients. The app includes all current Task Force recommendations and can be searched by patient characteristics, such as age, sex, and selected behavioral risk factors. The Task Force, supported by AHRQ, is an independent, volunteer panel of national disease prevention experts who work to improve the health of people by making evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services. Task Force information is also included in , an app for patients. Developed by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, MyHealthfinder includes plain language, actionable, evidence-based health information in English and Spanish.

Highlights From ´¡±á¸é²Ï’s Patient Safety Network

´¡±á¸é²Ï’s highlights journal articles, books and tools related to patient safety. Articles featured this week include:

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Review additional new publications in PSNet’s , including recent cases and commentaries and ´¡±á¸é²Ï’s WebM&M (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web).

´óÏóÊÓƵin the Professional Literature

Injuries from legal interventions involving conducted energy devices. Achola EM, Griffith KN, Wrenn JO, et al. JAMA Intern Med 2024 Apr;184(4):440-3. Access the on PubMed®.

Physicians and specialties in the Veterans Health Administration's Community Care Network. Feyman Y, Griffith KN, Dorneo A, et al. JAMA Netw Open 2024 May;7(5):e2410841. Access the on PubMed®.

Use of noisy labels as weak learners to identify incompletely ascertainable outcomes: a feasibility study with opioid-induced respiratory depression. Jeffery AD, Fabbri D, Reeves RM, et al. Heliyon 2024 Mar 15;10(5):e26434. Epub 2024 Feb 16. Access the on PubMed®.

Agreement of electronic health record-documented race and ethnicity with parental report. Goyal M, Alpern ER, Webb M, et al. Acad Emerg Med 2024 Jun;31(6):613-6. Epub 2023 Jan 22. Access the on PubMed®.

Drivers of variation in postpartum opioid prescribing across hospitals participating in a statewide maternity care quality collaborative. Peahl AF, Low LK, Langen ES, et al. Birth 2024 Sep;51(3):541-58. Epub 2023 Dec 30. Access the on PubMed®.

Primary care telemedicine and care continuity: implications for timeliness and short-term follow-up healthcare. Graetz I, Huang J, Gopalan A, et al. J Gen Intern Med 2024 Oct;39(13):2454-60. Epub 2024 Jul 17. Access the on PubMed®.

What do patients and families observe about pediatric safety? A thematic analysis of real-time narratives. Studenmund C, Lyndon A, Stotts JR, et al. J Hosp Med 2024 Sep;19(9):765-76. Epub 2024 May 13. Access the on PubMed®.

Quality, spending, utilization, and outcomes among dual-eligible Medicare-Medicaid beneficiaries in integrated care programs: a systematic review. Roberts ET, Duggan C, Stein R, et al. JAMA Health Forum 2024 Jul 5;5(7):e242187. Access the on PubMed®.