News and Media

Welcome to Quality Buzz. Quality Buzz is dedicated to bringing you all the latest news and information to help you improve the quality of your health care. We update this section weekly and hope that it will become an important resource for you.

November 24, 2009 — Quality Forum in Salem: November 30th!

This coming Monday (November 30th) the Partnership and AARP Massachusetts will be in Salem, MA for the final forum in our series "The Crisis in Health Care: What's A Patient To Do?" Salem State College is hosting the event at the Enterprise Center and its President Patricia Maguire Meservey, Ph.D, will moderate the panel. In addition to being President of Salem State, Dr. Meservy is a registered nurse and has worked for many years in both clinical practice and nursing education.

Our panelists will include: Dr. Mitchell Rein, Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, North Shore Medical Center, Martha Page, RN, MSN, CPHQ, Director of Patient Safety, North Shore Medical Center and Martha Hayward, a breast cancer survivor and founder of Women's Health Exchange.

This will be a great opportunity to hear from health care providers and patients directly about how consumers can take action and become active in their own and their families' health care choices. I hope you can join us.

Last week, AARP Massachusetts and the Partnership were at St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford. There was a good discussion among the panelists and audience.
 

L-R: Dr. EJ McMahon of Southcoast Hospitals Group, Linda Fitzgerald of AARP Massachusetts, Marilyn Kramer of the Partnership and Linda Kenney from MITSS

Wishing you a happy and safe Thanksgiving.  

Back to Top

November 17, 2009 — Consumers on The “Roadmap”

Last week, the Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council released its "Roadmap to Cost Containment." With 97% of Massachusetts residents having insurance coverage, the "Roadmap" turns attention to reducing what the Council calls "unsustainable" cost increases. The report details several strategies, including consumer engagement, which have been shown to be effective. It commends the work of the Partnership for engaging and educating the public and urges us to continue our efforts and expand our messages. We are grateful for the recognition of our work and look forward to working with the Council and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) to implement the strategies outlined in the Roadmap.

Last week's edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine had two academic papers that should be of interest to consumers:
 

• One study found that contrary to general perceptions, visits with primary care physicians are actually getting longer. Researchers found that between 1997 and 2005 the average visit increased from 18 minutes to almost 21 minutes, primarily due to more time being taken for physician counseling. The benefit - longer visits were associated with higher quality.
• In the second study, Boston-area researchers looked at how "adverse events" (medical errors) impact patients' perceptions of quality. Out of approximately 2,500 patients in the study's sample, 1 in 4 experienced adverse events. However, only 4 out of 10 adverse events had been disclosed by hospital staff. Curiously, patients who had been told about adverse events were twice as likely to rate their care as "good or excellent" compared to patients who had not been told. This study adds to the growing body of evidence that transparency can lead to greater patient trust and perceptions of quality.

Back to Top

November 10, 2009 — Keeping Our Eye On Quality

As progress towards national health care reform proceeds in Washington, two recent reports remind us of the importance keeping our eye on quality and patient safety as we think about insurance and payment reform.

The first report comes from the Massachusetts Healthcare Quality and Cost Council. It details quality and cost data for common conditions and procedures for every hospital in the state. While this data has been available to consumers for some time on the state's "My Health Care Options" website, this new report makes it easier to compare hospitals. It shows large variation in hospital performance for certain measures, particularly for mortality (death) rates following stroke and for cost of CTs and MRIs.

Readers will learn that quality care is delivered by Massachusetts hospitals at very different costs. More expensive care does not necessarily mean better quality care or that high quality care is only delivered by academic medical centers.

The second report analyzes results of the first national survey of hospital board chairs regarding their priorities. Surprisingly, half of those surveyed did not rate quality of care provided in their hospital as a top priority for the board and less than half identified quality performance as one of the two most important criteria for evaluating the performance of the hospital's CEO. Moreover, the researchers found a relationship between Board attention to quality and hospital performance (as measured by quality rankings).

As the authors note, if we want to improve quality of care in our hospitals, governing boards may be "a tempting target for interventions." Indeed.
 

Back to Top

November 03, 2009 — More Light, Please

Normally, I am a huge fan of UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. However, I did not agree with a recent op-ed in The Boston Globe written by its General Counsel. The op-ed questions the value of public reporting of patient falls and argues that we can never reach "zero" patient falls without unnecessarily restraining patients. In my letter to the editor (which was not published) I suggested that the op-ed greatly underestimated the ability of the public to make informed decisions and that the "bright light" of data has often led to changes in policies and procedures that improve quality of care. More light, please!

On Monday, November 16th the Partnership and AARP Massachusetts will be in New Bedford presenting the series "The Crisis in Health Care: What's Patient To Do?" at St. Luke's Hospital. Please join us, and tell your friends and family about the event. For more information click here.

Joining me for the discussion on improving patient care will be E.J. McMahon, MD, MBA, FCAP, Senior Vice President & Chief Medical Officer, Southcoast Hospitals Group and Linda Kenney, Executive Director, MITSS (Medically Induced Trauma Support Services). This will be a great opportunity to hear from health care providers and patients directly about how consumers can take action and become active in their own and their families' health care choices.

Last week The Wall Street Journal profiled the "family- centered" Newborn Intensive Care Unit at St. Louis (MO) Children's Hospital. Over the years, through a series of steps - both small and large - the focus of the unit has shifted from keeping infants alive to ensuring that they and their families thrive. Among the small steps is asking parents the middle name of their newborn. Since middle names are not typically in medical records, this simple question recognizes the parents as an important source of information. Among the large steps is having doctors work 30 days straight to reduce the number of "transition" days experienced by families.

Many studies have found better outcomes and lower costs from family-centered Newborn Intensive Care Units. Lower costs and better outcomes – win/win/win. The final "win," of course, being for the tiny patients and their families.
 

Back to Top

October 26, 2009 — New Resource for Patients in Hospitals

Josie's Story Comes to Massachusetts

Sorrell King, among the most compelling advocates for patient safety, was in town last week. Her 18-month old daughter, Josie, died eight years ago as a result of preventable medical errors in the hospital. Since then, Sorrell has told Josie's story to literally thousands of nurses, doctors, administrators and trustees, challenging them to make system improvements to eliminate medical errors.

Sorrell's book "Josie's Story: A Mother's Inspiring Crusade to Make Medical Care Safer" was published last month. In it, she offers simple steps patients or patient advocates can take to stay safe in the hospital. Among them: bring a notebook to keep track of information (names of doctors and nurses, tests/procedures, medications, questions to ask).


Her suggestions are the basis of a "Care Journal" that is available from The Josie King Foundation.

Consumer Engagement in Payment Reform

The Massachusetts Legislature is taking up recommendations of the Special Commission on the Health Care Payment System, which proposed moving Massachusetts health care providers to a "global payment" system.

Engaged consumers need to be at the heart of patient-centered care envisioned by the Commission in order for it to be successful. The Partnership has joined with several consumers groups, led by Leadership Council member Health Care for All, in support of policies that encourage consumer engagement.

Your Ideas To Transform the Health Care System

Don Berwick and Tom Nolan of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), are asking for your input on how to design a low-cost, high-quality health care system for the future. To learn more, submit your ideas and stories, and engage in a conversation about health system transformation, click here.

Dinner/Auction to Benefit MITSS

MITSS, a member of the Partnership's Leadership Council, is holding its annual benefit on November 12th. MISS provides services to support healing and restore hope to patients and clinicians who have been impacted by a medical error or adverse event.
 

Back to Top

October 20, 2009 — Speaking Out about Patient Care

On Wednesday, Oct 21, the Partnership is at the Worcester Greendale YMCA co-hosting Crisis in Health Care Quality. What's a Consumer to Do? with AARP Massachusetts. Please join us, and tell your friends and family about the event. For more details click here.

Joining us for a discussion on improving patient care will be:
 

• Harriette Chandler, State Senator, First Worcester, Joint Committee on Public Health
• Martha Hayward, Founder of Women's Health Exchange, breast cancer survivor, & Member of Dana Farber's Patient Family Advisory Council
• Robert Klugman, MD Chief Quality Officer, UMass Memorial Medical Center & Associate Professor of Medicine UMass Medical School
• Denise Skrocki, MS, RN, Director of Patient Experience, UMass Memorial Medical Center

The panelists will discuss variations in quality of care and highlight efforts underway to improve the quality of care. Attendees can learn more about quality of care and what they can do to get better care for their families and themselves.

Lessons on Being an Engaged Patient

Kari learned valuable lessons in how to be a more engaged patient after she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Looking back Kari says, "I put myself in the hands of the provider. All my decisions came from them to me. I readily accepted all the information because they were the experts." Read our latest engaged patient interview here.

Patient Family Advisory Councils in Massachusetts

Massachusetts hospitals were to have posted plans for their Patient Family Advisory Task Forces (PFACs) by September 30th. We have done some random checking on websites of various hospitals. In many cases, the PFAC information is difficult to find. However, once youfind it, most hospitals are providing some details of their plans and contact information. It you have recently been a patient and what to give back — like Kari does at Dana Farber — please be in touch. If you have a story to share about PFACs or other patient task forces, we'd love to hear from you.

Upcoming dates for our forums with AARP MA on Crisis in Health Care Quality. What's a Consumer to Do? are scheduled in New Bedford on November 16 and Salem on November 30. Details to be released soon.
 

Back to Top

October 08, 2009 — Engaging Consumers on the Roadmap to a Better Health Care System

At its September 30th meeting, The Massachusetts Healthcare Quality and Cost Council reviewed a proposed "Roadmap" for moving the Commonwealth to a health care system that is more efficient and delivers more value to Massachusetts residents. Consumer engagement, namely providing consumers with more information about the health care system, generally, and their own care, was viewed as a key strategy for moving the Commonwealth ahead towards its goal.

The Roadmap then went on to cite the Partnership's campaign and suggested future topics for consumer engagement. The Partnership is listening and will be working to develop new content and materials in the coming months to add to our library of resources and tools for consumers.

Please join the Partnership and AARP Massachusetts in Worcester on October 21st from 5:30-6:30 PM at the Greendale YMCA for a forum on "Quality of Care: What's a Consumer to Do?" Linda Fitzgerald, State President, AARP MA, and State Senator Harriette Chandler will participate. A few consumers will share their stores about being engaged patients. For details and directions, click here.

The Quality Buzz will be taking a week off next week for the Columbus Day weekend and to enjoy the New England fall foliage.
 

Back to Top

September 30, 2009 — Continuing “A Public Conversation”

It was a pleasure to see so many of you last week at the Liz Walker forum on transparency in health care. We hope that this is the start of a public conversation among consumers, physicians, hospital administrators and policy makers on the topic of health care quality. As one consumer in the audience stated, "Involve the patients…it's not 'us' versus 'them.'"

To continue the conversation, the Partnership is looking for individuals (even if you were not able to attend the forum last week) who want to be more involved with our mission. There are several ways you can participate:
 

• First, we are looking for patients to share their own stories. How are you an engaged patient and how has it helped your medical care? How has being engaged impacted your relationship with your physician? Was there a particular incident that made you want to become a more engaged patient? If you have a story you would like to share, please drop us a note.
• Second, we are looking for consumers who want to work with our Physician Advisory Council. This Council of 15 physicians helps guide our work. The physicians on the Council want to work directly with consumers to identify ways to improve patient/physician relationships and thus improve quality of care. The Council meets twice a year. If you are interested in working with the Council, please contact us.
• Finally, you can look into participating in a Patient Family Advisory Council at your local hospital. The purpose of these councils is to engage consumers in health care quality improvement. Some hospitals have had active councils for many years; others are in the process of forming them. (A new law in Massachusetts requires all MA hospitals to have a Council by fall of 2010.) If you are interested in volunteering and need help connecting with the appropriate people, please contact us.

I look forward to hearing from you and continuing the conversation.
 

Back to Top

September 22, 2009 — “Transparency in Health Care” Forum with Liz Walker — THIS Thursday

Please join us for a forum on "transparency in health care" this Thursday (September 24th) evening at 7 PM at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge. Journalist and community leader Liz Walker is hosting. Jim Conway, Chairman of the Partnership's Board, is participating. No registration needed. Just come and bring your friends and family! Click here for details.

Last week, I attended a fascinating forum on "Patient-Centeredness and Patient Safety." Dr. Don Berwick, President of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, described how we might truly re-form (not simply reform) the health care system to be more patient-centered.

He challenged the members of the audience to ask ourselves: what do we really want from our health care? He suggested that what we want is not a surgical procedure or a treatment but being able to achieve our personal goals. I totally agree. I didn't want surgery when I hurt my hip last winter, but I did want to be strong enough to make it down the intermediate trails at Sunday River with my kids. Skiing pain-free was the outcome I desired - not a successful hip surgery.

It's important for your doctor to know your goals as your plan your treatment. Don't be afraid to speak up if he or she doesn't ask you.

Yesterday, the Partnership was at the Greendale YMCA in Worcester educating members about preventing infection and the importance of being engaged patients. Local Access TV came and filmed. Worcester area readers should watch for it in the coming weeks on Channel 12.
 

Back to Top

September 17, 2009 — Spotlight on Transparency in Healthcare — on WCVB-TV!

Please tune in to Better Living With Liz Walker on WCVB-TV/Channel 5 tonight (Thursday, September 17th) at 7:30pm. The show is part of a 4-part series meant to ignite a conversation within the health care community that will help create patient provider dialogues that inform and empower. In tonight's segment, Liz Walker will look into the concept of transparency in health care, discovering what local hospitals and doctors are doing to reduce the number of medical errors.

As a follow up to the series, on September 24th, Mount Auburn Hospital will host a forum focused on health care transparency where consumers and health care providers will gather to discuss the challenges of creating greater transparency in relation to medical errors — discussing what hospitals, doctors and patients are doing to improve care, making it safer and more effective. This discussion will be moderated by Liz Walker and feature commentary from the Partnership's Chair, Jim Conway.

We hope you will join us to engage in this important discussion next Thursday, September 24th.

Healthcare Transparency Forum
Moderated by Liz Walker

Date: Thursday, September 24, 2009
Time: 7:00pm to 8:30 pm
Location: Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge, MA
 

Back to Top