Insights from the Armstrong Institute
In May, three academic medical systems turned up the heat on a long-simmering debate about the link between surgical volumes and quality of care. Leaders… Read More »Weighing the Need for Surgical Volume Thresholds
Most of us would agree that there aren't enough valid and meaningful health care quality measures to guide patients' choices of hospitals and physicians. While… Read More »The Surgeon Scorecard and the Need for Measurement Standards
How many of our conflicts could be handled better or averted if we had the opportunity to spend some time in the shoes of the… Read More »Walking in Another Caregiver’s Shoes
There are more than 50 in-flight medical emergencies a day on commercial airlines — or one for every 604 flights, according to a study published in… Read More »Patient Safety Perils at 36,000 Feet
In the world of medicine, blood clots during hospitalization have become synonymous with imperfect care. As many as 600,000 patients per year experience a blood… Read More »Blood Clots Show Limits of Quality Care Penalties
Let's say that you're a nurse on a hospital unit, and a colleague has recently been involved in a medication error. It was a mistake… Read More »What Any Caregiver Can Do to Support a ‘Second Victim’
She was a newly minted Johns Hopkins Hospital pediatric nurse — let's call her Mary — but she was already unsure if she had chosen the right… Read More »Supporting ‘Second Victims’ with Emotional First Aid
If you were undergoing a surgical procedure, would you ever think to refuse the antibiotics your physician had ordered to prevent an infection? For most… Read More »Blood Clots: The Least-Appreciated Complication of Hospital Care?
For years, physician assistant Stephanie Figueroa has worked with our Emergency Department and the sickle cell care team to improve the treatment of patients with… Read More »Patient Safety and Quality Champions Grow into Leaders
Imagine you were seeking major surgery, and the hospital's consent form contained this surprise statement, which you were asked to initial: "I understand that this… Read More »Can Hospitals Police Themselves to Avoid Too-Risky Surgeries?