Here are five articles on some of the most interesting quality- and infection control-related research from the last week.
1. Hospital readmissions decreased 50 percent when pharmacists reviewed patients' medication regimens and provided counseling during discharge transition, a study from CVS Health Research Institute found. Read more
2. Putting healthcare workers through teamwork training can reduce patient mortality by 15 percent and medical errors by 19 percent, a study soon to be published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found. Read more
3. Implementing an electronic monitoring system for hand hygiene compliance led to a 42 percent decrease in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections by 42 percent at a South Carolina hospital. Read more
4. Just 47 percent of reporting hospitals met the Leapfrog's standard for intensive care unit staffing, even though the standards are associated with increased patient survival rates. Read more
5. Thorough cleaning of single-patient hospital rooms, including "grey zones", or the areas commonly glossed over in the cleaning process, can lower the risk of antibiotic resistant infections, according to a study in the American Journal of Infection Control. Read more