• 7/21/09: The National Healthcare Quality Reports and National Healthcare Disparities Reports

  This call presented the latest available findings on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality"s (AHRQ) National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR) which measures trends in effectiveness of care, patient safety, timeliness of care, patient centeredness, and efficiency of care.

  Ernest Moy, MD, MPH and Karen Ho, MS, AHRQ

  • 06/02/09: The Joint Commission’s Draft Standards to Advance Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and Patient-Centered Care

    This call focused on the development and feasibility of draft standards, ideas for improvement, and resources The Joint Commission is preparing to help hospitals implement proposed cultural competency and communication standards. An implementation guide was also presented that was developed to help hospitals meet these standards.

    Ann Wilson-Stronks, MPP, The Joint Commission

    • 05/26/09: An Overview of the National Quality Forum and the Role for NAPH Members

      The National Quality Forum (NQF) is a not-for-profit membership organization created to develop and implement a national strategy for health care quality measurement and reporting. The purpose of this call was to provide an overview of NQF’s national goals and priorities. Dr. Burstin, Senior Vice President for Performance Measures at NQF, described how NQF processes measures for development, review, and endorsement of quality and patient safety measures. She also described NQF’s health care quality national priorities, and the role NAPH members can play on expert panels and technical advisory committees. Speakers from member hospitals discussed their experiences serving on NQF technical advisory committees and how they were able to influence national measures.

      Helen Burstin, MD, MPH, National Quality Forum

      • 05/12/09: HHS Action Plan to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections

        Dr. Don Wright, HHS Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, provided an overview of the coordinated HHS effort to reduce and prevent healthcare-associated infections, including proposed uses of federal funds to implement the steps outlined in the Action Plan and next steps to further the effort.

        Dr. Don Wright, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

        • 04/28/09: Accreditation in 2009: The Joint Commission and New Accreditor, DNV NIAHO

          This call provided an update of the 2009 changes to The Joint Commission (TJC) accreditation process, including the new TJC scoring process being used in 2009, the formal application of TJC to receive hospital deeming authority from CMS, and the broad changes this will require in current standards. The presentation also included an overview of the new accrediting body, DNV Healthcare Inc.'s National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations Program (DNV NIAHO) and the significant differences between this accreditor’s approach and that of TJC.

          Larry Poniatowski, University HealthSystem Consortium

          • 04/21/09: An Overview of Patient Safety Organizations

            This call provided an overview of the national Patient Safety Act and Patient Safety Organizations (PSO). Ms. Clevenger, Director of Patient Safety for the University HealthSystem Consortium, discussed the purpose of a PSO, reporting of patient safety events to a PSO and what this means to an organization. She also discussed UHC's role as a PSO and its ongoing work with AHRQ.

            Wanda Clevenger, University HealthSystem Consortium

            • 03/31/09: Strategies to Improve Patient Safety: Lessons from Public Hospitals and Health Systems

              This call provided a forum for safety net hospitals to share strategies, challenges and best practices in patient safety. NAPH member hospitals discussed their experiences and lessons learned around engaging hospital leadership, managers and front line staff to support patient safety from all levels and to ensure that everyone has the skills, knowledge and tools to maintain and maximize patient care.

              Caroline M. Jacobs, MPH, MS.Ed, New York City Health and Hospitals Corp.

              • 03/17/09: Measuring Patients’ Perceptions of Their Hospital Experience: Strategies To Enhance and Boost Your HCAHPS Scores

                NAPH members share strategies, challenges and tips to improve HCAHPS performance. Dr. Hullett and Daryll Webb from Cooper Green Hospital tell how they made the "honor roll" in patient satisfaction and the challenges they faced. Dr. Mylod from Press Ganey gives approaches to boost HCAHPS scores.

                Dierdre Mylod, PhD, Press Ganey

                • 1/27/09: NAPH Member Core Measure Performance: Trends and Observations

                  The University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) presented an in depth analysis of NAPH member performance on publicly reported core measure metrics. The analysis displayed information about NAPH member performance as a group, trends over time and, and comparisons to non-NAPH hospitals and national benchmarks.

                  Leslie W Prellwitz, MBA & Mugdha Temby, University HealthSystem Consortium

                  • 1/7/09: Developing a Quality-Focused Board

                    This call presented information on how Harborview Medical Center board members use quality and accountability information to track performance. Submitting this type of report to board members can keep board members engaged in the promotion of patient safety and family centered care.

                    J. Richard Goss, MD, Harborview Medical Center

Additional Resources