The Clarity Post | Fall 2017



Fall, 2017 Dear Colleagues, Welcome to the Fall Edition of The Clarity Post™. In this edition, we bring to your attention some of the hot topics in healthcare delivery today, and look at some good resources to refresh your own RQS toolkit. The recent hurricanes, as well as yesterday's earthquake in Mexico City, have given all of us pause as we are reminded that out of real tragedy comes true compassion. We send our good thoughts to all who have been affected by the recent natural disasters, and wish everyone as speedy a recovery as possible. Our work to realize our Vision of Healthcare Free of Preventable Harm continues, and we hope you find the information presented helpful in your pursuit of this important goal as well. Please enjoy this latest edition of The Clarity Post...and have a lovely Fall season. Anna Marie Hajek President & CEO Clarity Group, Inc. HEALTHCARE HOT TOPICS: PATIENT SAFETY CLARITY PSO's 2017 REPORT TO HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS In previous published reports, Clarity PSO has carefully mapped out the foundations of the PSO program, explaining what it is, what it does, and how providers can benefit from working with a Patient Safety Organization. In our latest report, we share how learnings from our data analysis and safety activities are put into practice by our clients every day, and how our recommendations impact the culture behind their healthcare delivery models. Specifically this latest report examines some of the insights our clients have gained, and the operational changes they have implemented as a result of their work with us. READ THE FULL REPORT HEALTHCARE HOT TOPICS: HEALTHCARE IT GOOD IT INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDES BASIS FOR IMPROVED PATIENT CARE In a recent Hospitals & Health Networks® article, author Rebecca Vesely examines the surge in the adoption of new techology solutions among many healthcare organizations, and takes a look at exactly how much work there is left to do in translating these new technologies into actual results that impact patient safety and experience. Give it a read here. This is a topic that always hits close to home for us, and underscores our mission to help our clients get the most out of the use of our products in pursuit of their strategic objectives to enhance healthcare quality and safety. Our Healthcare SafetyZone® Portal is a popular and powerful tool to support healthcare providers in their pursuit of these goals. HEALTHCARE HOT TOPICS: POPULATION HEALTH HRSA ANNOUNCES TOP CAH QUALITY REPORTING STATES The Health Resources and Services Administration recently issued a statement recognizing 10 states where CAHs (Critical Access Hospitals) had the best quality reporting rates and improvements under the Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project. The states were Wisconsin, Maine, Utah, Minnesota, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nebraska, Indiana and Massachusetts. According to the report, 96% of the nation’s 1340 CAHs report on rural-relevant quality measures. Clarity is proud to work with more than 100 CAHs around the country through our various programs, and many are in the states noted in the report. We applaud their continuous efforts to enhance the quality of care provided to their communities. READ THE ANNOUNCEMENT STAY CURRENT ON THE CDC'S EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS GUIDELINES Our hearts go out to those affected by the events in Texas, Florida, The Caribbean, and Mexico City. The role of healthcare and public health providers can never be underestimated in such widespread disasters. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has a wealth of tools and resources to support providers in their endeavors. REFRESH YOUR TOOLKIT HERE CLARITY SPOTLIGHT WEBINAR: A FOCUSED REVIEW OF HARMFUL EVENTS On August 2, 2017, more than 200 healthcare providers attended Clarity PSO's complimentary Patient Safety Webinar: A Focused Review of Harmful Events, presented by Tom Piotrowski, RN, MSN, Executive Director of Clarity PSO, and Heather DeMoss, RN, BSN, Clarity PSO Clinical Operations Manager. The webinar examined the challenges, including error types, pathways, and potential rationales, for defects in care delivery. The Clarity PSO team examined over 82,000 safety events reported in the past five years to present a picture of what errors look like today, and to assess the impact of those errors. This presentation represents the first publishing of their findings. WATCH & DOWNLOAD SLIDES SOCIAL MEDIA & RISK MANAGEMENT: CLARITY GROUP AT THE 2017 ICAHN ANNUAL CONFERENCE Social Media has exploded in recent years, and this is true in healthcare provider settings as well. Managing the risks associated with the broad access to personal health information can be a formidable challenge. Heather Annolino, RN, MBA, CPHRM, Director of Clarity's Risk-Quality-Safety Consulting Services, will be leading a break-out session at 9:40am on November 15th entitled Social Media & Risk Management: What You Need to Know. Her presentation will be based in part on the latest edition of our Risk-Quality-Safety bulletin, the RQS Insider. READ THE LATEST RQS INSIDER UPCOMING WEBINAR: A PANEL DISCUSSION ON CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES IN BATTLING THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC In 2016 the prescribing rate for opioids dropped to its lowest point in more than 10 years, with roughly 214 million opioid prescriptions (https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/maps/rxrate-maps.html). However, the number of lives lost to the opioid crisis is still enormous, even with the government and CDC's efforts at aiding those suffering with addiction. Coming this November, Clarity Group will be hosting a panel webinar featuring multiple organizational perspectives and provider types, focusing on the challenges and strategies they're all facing in their respective efforts to decrease the volume of opioid overdose deaths. STAY TUNED FOR REGISTRATION DETAILS CHECK OUT CLARITY GROUP IN PERSON! OCTOBER 15-18, 2017 ASHRM Seattle, WA NOVEMBER 14-15, 2017 ICAHN Champaign, IL Clarity Group, Inc. \| 773-864-8280 \| info@claritygrp.com www.claritygrp.com Do you have an idea for a topic that you'd like to see covered in The Clarity Post? Email us your thoughts at info@claritygrp.com The content in this email is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, medical and/or legal advice. Questions regarding this information should be addressed to local advisors and legal counsel. © 2017 Clarity Group, Inc. All rights reserved.