As hospitals are under pressure to reduce potentially avoidable readmissions, many hospitals are learning the importance of consistent follow-up with patients after discharge. However, less attention is paid to the value of following up with patients after emergency department visits.…

Truman Medical Centers, a two-hospital system based Kansas City, Mo., is set to embark on an innovative community project to offer healthy food options, as it looks to open its own grocery store with a local partner.

Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle cut its sterile processing error rate from 3 percent to 1.5 percent over 37 months by using Lean techniques, according to a study in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.

A free Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae prevention toolkit is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The American College of Physician Executives announced its support of 10 patient safety practices hospitals should adopt now, which were identified in a report for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

While 85 percent of nurses agree that their hospital has a patient safety culture, only 41 percent describe the hospital they work in as "safe," according to a survey by GE Healthcare and the American Nurses Association.

Multicomponent fall prevention programs can reduce the relative risk for falls by as much as 30 percent, according to a study in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Many health systems behind CMS' 32 Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations disagree with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's approach to quality measurement and are demanding changes to the Pioneer program, according to a Washington Post report.

While CMS' Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program has the potential to improve patient care and hospital quality, its calculation method for determining penalties may unfairly penalize high-performing hospitals and safety-net hospitals, according to a perspective piece in the New England Journal…

Urology Inc., a urology practice in Fall River, Mass., has joined New Bedford, Mass.-based Southcoast Physician Group.