The following are the most recent research developments in the world of quality, selected from the last two weeks of coverage and starting with the most recent.
1. Leapfrog Safety Scores Favor Participating Hospitals: While The Leapfrog Group has a comprehensive methodology for calculating safety scores, the proxy quality measures it uses to calculate scores for hospitals that do not participate in the Leapfrog Survey may score those hospitals at a disadvantage.
2. 86% of Nurses Leave Some Care Undone: A study of English nurses revealed 86 percent leave one or more care activities undone per shift due to lack of time pressure. Leaving care activities undone was also positively correlated with lower safety scores on wards.
3. Senior Leaders Complacent on Patient Safety Walkrounds: Senior Leadership Rounding may lead to the development of counterproductive and cynical behaviors among ill-prepared leadership, one study found.
4. Inappropriate Use of Antibiotics in ED Prevalent: A study found that while the emergency department use of antibiotics in pediatric cases has decreased, antibiotic use for adults in emergency department settings remains unchanged, possibly contributing to widespread antibiotic resistance.
5. Study: Hospital Quality May Contribute to Racial Disparities in Care: Researchers linked hospital quality to racial disparities in heart care, though quality only explained about half of the differences in mortality outcomes between white and nonwhite patients.
6. Patients With Learning Disabilities Experience Poorer Care Quality: A lack of identification and understanding of learning disabilities hinders healthcare providers' ability to provide quality care to patients with learning disabilities, who may not understand their role in their care if it is not communicated in a way they can retain.
7. New Physicians Don't Worsen Heart Procedure Outcomes: A study of nearly 300,000 angioplasties found surgical complications were consistent throughout the year, striking down the idea that the annual influx of new physicians causes increased medical errors and deaths, also known as the "July effect."
8. Sleep-Deprived Nurses More Likely to Regret Decisions: Nurses who suffer from daytime fatigue due to sleep deficits are more likely to report decision regret, according to a study.
9. Study: MRSA Screening Lacks Evidence: Researchers concluded the lack of quality data on screening techniques for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus makes it impossible to determine the most effective method of MRSA detection in hospitals at this time. They called for the generation of better data through improved study designs.
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