In 2006-2008, there were nearly 1 million patient safety events among Medicare patients, costing $8.9 billion, according to a new study by healthcare ratings organization HealthGrades. The number of incidents was virtually the same as reported in last year's study.

The trend over the last five years has been a continued, dedicated effort to establishing standards and steps for improving patient safety. Major accreditation agencies have become increasingly active in establishing guidelines and are joined by hospitals and surgery centers…

HCAHPS, or the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, is a standardized survey tool used to measure adult inpatient perception of the quality of care they receive at a given hospital. Developed by CMS and the Agency for…

If you are looking for the report on "Challenges Facing 10 Hospital Service Lines," please click here.Hospital nurses spend one-quarter of their time on non-patient care, such as fulfilling regulatory requirements, providing the same information several times and securing equipment…

Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downer's Grove, Ill., can be characterized as an organization that is constantly improving. Each year it works to make its already high patient and physician satisfaction ratings even higher. In the summer of 2004, the…

A recent study from the RAND Corp. found that hospitals in California spent over $193 million on air pollution-related hospital events from 2005-2007.

William Hogan Jr., MD, a board-certified pain management physician and anesthesiologist, has joined the staff of Memorial Hospital in Fremont, Ohio, according to a report in The News-Messenger.

Richard F. Collins, MD, is vice president for medical affairs of Jefferson Regional Medical Center, a 390-bed hospital in Pittsburgh that is participating in a new pilot project to lower readmissions, sponsored by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Here he…

New England Sinai Hospital in Stoughton, Mass., is suspending new patient admissions in order to train and educate staff after state public health officials found patient care problems, including improper treatment of wounds and not properly following infection control procedures,…

The Joint Commission has revised its medical staff standard to recognize that administrators and board members must collaborate closely with the medical staff, even though the board is still ultimately responsible for operations, according to a release from the Joint…