Improvement Tools

This tool enables providers to categorize patients into one of three groups, based on whether they are at low, moderate, or high risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE). It can be placed on an single order sheet and completed by a physician in seconds. (Source: University of California San Diego Medical Center)  — View Improvement Tool

This checklist reminds surgeons to verify procedures, sites, and prophylatic antibiotics. (Source: Primaris, the Medicare QIO for Missouri)  — View Improvement Tool

This checklist reminds surgeons to verify procedures, sites, and prophylatic antibiotics. (Source: Primaris, the Medicare QIO for Missouri)  — View Improvement Tool

This How-to Guide builds upon relevant research and published literature, and integrates what hospitals have learned as they strive to dramatically improve the quality of care for patients discharged from the hospital to home or to another health care facility. (Source: Institute for Healthcare Improvement (in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation))  — View Improvement Tool

This How-to Guide is divided into four sections: Section One provides an overview of the key components needed to sustain and spread improvements, including the IHI Framework for Spread. Section Two outlines a practical step-by-step sequence of activities to lay the foundation for spread, create a plan for spread, and implement and refine the plan for spread. Section Two also includes real-world examples from TCAB hospitals and tips about best practices for achieving spread and sustainability. Section Three includes two case studies. Section Four provides tips and tools from TCAB hospitals. (Source: Institute for Healthcare Improvement (in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation))  — View Improvement Tool

The new edition of this reference delivers key insights to help you understand and prevent a broad range of errors, including those related to medication, surgery, diagnostics, nursing, and those made at the man-machine interface. You will also find a practical overview on how to implement an effective safety program in both hospital and ambulatory settings. It includes issues related to: information technology, measurement, checklists, and policy. (Source: Robert Wachter, M.D., University of California, San Francisco)  — View Improvement Tool

This free video was created to help health care organizations determine the best ways to meet the needs of patients with limited English proficiency, low health literacy, or other special communication needs. It identifies tools to build language access programs, explains federal civil rights standards and Joint Commission standards for effective communication and language access, and describes the obligations of health care organizations with respect to the translation of written documents. (Source: Joint Commission and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights )  — View Improvement Tool

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone working in a hospital who'd say, "Yes, we really want Mrs. Jones to be back here a few days after she's been discharged, running a fever, suffering complications from surgery, and now needing to be readmitted so we can run more tests." And yet, scratch the surface of even the most dedicated hospital these days, working hard on sending people home with appropriate information, support, and planning… and you'll find someone working late who's been asked to come up with the business model that's going to replace all the lost revenues when those "unwanted" readmissions are reduced! (Source: Institute for Healthcare Improvement)  — View Improvement Tool