Quality: SNI Surveying Members On Performance Measurement

SNI is laying the groundwork for a new SNI initiative to assist members in navigating the the increasingly important work of quality measurement, public reporting and pay for performance.  We have engaged consultant Cathy Wada, and are pleased to bring her decades of experience working in a leadership capacity across many health care sectors to this work.  SNI will be sending out a short Web-based survey to CAPH member hospital quality officers so that we can find commonalities and target areas where working together will benefit all member hospitals. Contact: cwada@caph.org.

Quality: California’s Own Hospital Report Card Released

The long awaited California hospital report card is now available at www.CalHospitalCompare.org with six CAPH member public hospital systems participating.  CalHospitalCompare is the result of a two-year collaboration by the California Hospital Assessment and Reporting Taskforce (CHART) and the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF).  All of the measures used to rate hospitals on the site are already available to the public through the Joint Commission, CMS, Leapfrog, and OSHPD.  The range of reported information will grow with the next version of the report card later in 2007.

SNI is pleased to share two recent news articles, both highlighting how collecting performance data and using it in management can dramatically improve quality and outcomes:

The New York Times describes the improvement in a Northern California hospital’s care for heart attack patients, once managers actually began to look at the amount of time patients were waiting for heart catheterization.  This article was shared with SNI by our Patient Visit Redesign consultants Coleman Associates, and is reprinted on their Web site.

The second article, from the Stanford Social Innovation Review, illustrates this theme, through the example of the city of Baltimore’s CitiStats program. City officials combined measurement and data sharing to set goals of increased accountability across city departments, from police, to health department restaurant reviewers, to the lead poison abatement program.  Generating $43 million in cost savings citywide, the changes resulted in reduced crime, increased drug treatment access, and even 90% of potholes being fixed within 48 hours. That’s progress.  SNI thanks SSIR for permission to reproduce the article (click here to read).

CAPH & SNI Board Member Ken Cohen featured in Leaders Advance

CAPH and SNI Board member Kenneth B. Cohen, CEO of San Joaquin General Hospital was featured in the February Leaders Advance newsletter, published by UCSF Center for Health Professions. As a participant in the LEAD program, Cohen imparted the importance of organization-wide cultural and linguistic competence efforts. He led his team in developing the Health Care Interpreter Network, which improves cultural and linguistic competence through technology. When asked what recommendations he would give other leaders about undertaking organizational change, he stated, “Leadership must emphasize the importance of teamwork within their organization and establish teamwork as a critical organizational value.” Click here to read the full length article.

CHCF Publishes Findings and Recommendations on Quality of Palliative Care for California’s Diverse Population

The California HealthCare Foundation released a new report examining how racial, ethnic, and cultural factors affect the causes and patterns of death for Californians and the palliative care they receive. Researchers found that a wide range of cultural and socio-economic factors not only contributed to cause of death, but various preferences for end-of-life (EOL) care as well. For instance, a disproportionate number of young Latino, Native American, and African American Californians die from sudden deaths due to accidents and assaults, often times in the emergency room. However, less than half of California hospitals offer palliative care service or bereavement counseling in the emergency room. To view the article in its entirety click here or visit the CHCF Web site.