After a 14-year hiatus, the federal government resumed publication of mortality data on Medicare patients, this time in a more limited fashion. Its effort to avoid the criticisms that felled the previous program has left some questioning whether the data, released in June, have any value at all. This article examines those complaints and looks at ways mortality data may be—and are already being—modified to make them more useful as quality improvement tools. Read more »
A heart failure program implemented at an independent teaching hospital appears to have lowered readmission and mortality rates for these patients, suggesting that other institutions can improve their health outcomes for this condition. Read more »
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Selected articles on quality improvement from a number of journals, including the American Journal of Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, BMJ, Health Affairs, Health Services Research, International Journal for Quality in Health Care, Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Safety, Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of General Internal Medicine, Journal of Patient Safety, Journal of Safety and Quality in Health Care, Medical Care, The Milbank Quarterly, The New England Journal of Medicine, and Pediatrics. The articles are nominated by Editorial Advisory Board members from a preselected list. Read more »
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