November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month
Every year, nearly 1.6 million people living with a life-limiting illness receive care from hospice and palliative care providers. Join us this month in helping the community understand just how important hospice and palliative care is and why everyone needs to think about their options before they're in a medical crisis. Clarity is privileged to work with many hospice providers, and we want to take this time to recognize the tremendous work of these dedicated professionals!

Learn more about National Hospice and Palliative Care Month and find tools related to the hospice field.

A Guide to Preparing for and Managing Cybersecurity Risks
Cybersecurity has been a hot topic in healthcare for many years now, but many organizations still struggle with how to protect themselves. To help healthcare providers gain a better understanding of cybersecurity and its risks, the American Hospital Association developed the paper, Cybersecurity and Hospitals: Four Questions Every Hospital Leader Should Ask in Order to Prepare for and Manage Cybersecurity Risks. This is a valuable resource that offers both explanations and actionable items.

Read AHA's Cybersecurity Paper.

Also see the Clarity Spotlight section below for a cybersecurity resource from our Risk-Quality-Safety educational services.

The Growth of Telemedicine
Did you know that the telehealth market is estimated to attract seven million users by 2018? In a recent article, Becker's Healthcare shares a few eye-opening statistics that may help you in your decision to start or expand your telemedicine services. The healthcare industry has seen a lot of growth in this area, and this information shows that telemedicine won't be slowing down any time soon. 

Learn more in the article, Telemedicine to Attract 7M Patient Users by 2018 - 12 Statistics on the Thriving Market

Also check out our White Paper, How Would You Know if You Had a Problem With Your Telemedicine Services, which discusses the importance of a telemedicine risk management plan.

Workplace Violence in Healthcare 
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, those who work in healthcare and social assistance settings are five times more likely to be victims of nonfatal assaults or violent acts than the average worker. The number of reported incidents has increased significantly over the last few years, drawing much attention to this problem. To help healthcare providers combat workplace violence, the AHA released a web-based resource as part of its Hospitals Against Violence initiative. The website puts the spotlight on this very important topic and offers a variety of tools and materials regarding workplace violence. 

Visit the AHA's workplace violence webpage for the resources. 

What Health Plans Need to Know About Millennial Customers
The millennial generation is redefining what it means to be a patient in healthcare today; long gone are the days of traditional doctor-patient relationships. In research conducted by Sermo, a network for physicians, they concluded that millennials are more likely to challenge doctor recommendations and less likely to build relationships with them. One of the biggest reasons for this shift is the use of technology. Younger patients are bigger proponents of online tools and resources, giving them more access to healthcare data and costs, and different ways to interact with doctors.

Learn more about Sermo's findings in the HealthLeaders Media article, What Health Plans Need to Know About Millennial Customers

National Rural Health Day is Almost Here!
Join us in celebrating National Rural Health Day tomorrow, November 17.  Rural healthcare providers across America play a critical role in our country's health system, and we would like to recognize and thank them for all their contributions!

• About National Rural Health Day
• 2016 National Rural Health Day Key Messages
• RAC's Tools for Success
• National Rural Health Resource Center Programs
• HRSA's Rural Health Resources

Rural Hospitals Lead in Infection Prevention
It is no secret that rural healthcare providers have limited resources and their population is vastly different from their urban counterparts. They do not let these and other challenges stop them, though, from providing quality care to their patients. A recent HHS report states that rural providers are ahead of urban facilities in the prevention of hospital acquired infections. In its study, only 14% of rural facilities were penalized on HAI reduction compared to 26% of urban providers. HHS officials credit this in part to rural providers' success in care coordination.

Read the report for more information on rural health and their participation in value-based initiatives.

50+ Bed Hospitals and the Affordable Care Act
In less than 50 days, hospitals with 50+ beds that want to participate in the Health Insurance Marketplace will need to conduct work through a patient safety evaluation system. The mandate goes into effect January 1, 2017, and the best way to meet this requirement is through a Patient Safety Organization.

Don't wait to take action. Clarity PSO can help you meet the mandate and provide you with a variety of other valuable services. Contact us today for more information.

Patient Safety will Improve with Launch of ACA Effort Focused on Better Data Collection
A paper published in the December 2016 issue of the Journal of Biomedical Informatics discusses how the January 1, 2017, Affordable Care Act reporting requirement may play a key role in improving patient safety. Since the affected organizations must be a part of a PSO, they will use AHRQ's Common Formats for patient safety data collection, making their reporting more reliable and better for analysis. According to the paper, "The Common Formats are helping to systematize the practice of medicine, by providing the tools, workflow and knowledge at the point of care to assist clinicians. This helps decrease both errors of commission and of omission." 

Read more about the benefits of PSOs and Common Format Reporting in the University at Buffalo's News Release and our PSO Report.

PSO Learning Series Report - High-Alert Medications
High-alert medications draw specific attention because the consequences of errors are more devastating to patients than other medications. In a recent data analysis, Clarity PSO identified heparin, vancomycin and insulin, all high-alert medications, as the top 3 most consistently involved medications in events reported to our database.

Because of this data, Clarity PSO dug deeper into these events, and in our latest PSO Learning Series Report, we share the common themes that we identified and our recommendations to improve safety practices related to these medications. 

Download the report.

The Benchmark for Excellence in Patient Safety™ Program Reaches Milestone
We are pleased to announce that our national Benchmark for Excellence in Patient Safety™ (BFEPS) Program reached a milestone this year and contracted with its 100th member. The BFEPS Program is a first of its kind benchmarking program for small and rural healthcare organizations. Through the program, these healthcare providers have access to a network of peers, benchmarking opportunities, patient safety initiatives and valuable data analysis and recommendations. Our members have seen tremendous growth and success in the program, and we are excited to see what the future has in store for them.

Learn more about the BFEPS Program.

Captive Insurance 101
Healthcare providers are constantly exposed to new risks and the potential for claims. One way providers can manage these exposures and control their costs is through an alternative risk financing vehicle such as a captive insurance company. But what is captive insurance and how can you benefit from it? Take a look at our quick primer, Captive Insurance 101, for the answers to these questions.

Want more information? In our report, The Captive Risk Management Triad™ - Tools for the Effective Operations of Healthcare Captives, we outline what we feel are the key pieces to a successful captive operations program. We break down the areas of Underwriting, Risk, Quality and Safety Management, and Claims Management and provide you with the tools you need to create an integrated patient safety management strategy. 

Introducing the RQS Insider 
Clarity is proud to present our newest risk-quality-safety educational resource, the RQS Insider. Our RQS Insider bulletins will focus on risk, quality and safety issues and offer tips to help you assess and manage potential risk exposures within your organization.

In this installment, we take a hard look at the opioid epidemic and offer strategies that organizations, big and small, can implement to reduce pain management risks and improve patient care.

Download the RQS Insider bulletin, Risk Prevention Strategies: Decreasing the Pain.

How Cybersecurity is Changing Healthcare - What You Need to Know to Protect Yourself
Mac McMillan, CEO of CynergisTek, Inc. and recognized cybersecurity expert and healthcare industry thought leader, teamed up with Clarity Group's RQS Consulting Services to provide an overview of the current cybersecurity landscape and review the latest OCR guidance and programs. The webinar also offers useful information to think about as you review your current cybersecurity practices and plan for the future.

Download the slides.

Anesthesiology Safety Webinar
In the webinar, The End of Summer, the Start of Anesthesiology Safety, our speaker, John Blenko, MD, shines a bright light on anesthesiology and walks us through some areas we should focus on to keep our patients safe. Anesthesia providers have been at the forefront of patient safety for decades, and they continue to have a direct impact on patient safety.

View the slides or listen to the recording.

Visit Clarity Group at the 28th Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care December 4-7, 2016, in Orlando, Florida. Booth #807!