Hospital acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) are devastating to patients. These patients enter the hospital with one ailment and with a pressure injury their hospitalization increases, there is an increased risk for infection and decreased chance at health. Additionally, the costs of a HAPI are absorbed by the hospital. The hospital uses staffing resources, hospital space […]
A prerequisite for universally high quality, equitable care is understanding and addressing how societal/structural inequities affect quality and patient safety in clinical encounters. Yet the ways in which these inequities can permeate and undermine patient care are not always apparent to health care staff and providers. In Part I of this series, The Impact of Bias […]
Patient Safety Awareness Week 2020 Despite decades of evidence and thousands of studies demonstrating racial and ethnic inequalities in health care quality and safety, there has been limited progress towards correcting this problem. The lack of progress is especially disturbing in light of the fact that clinicians, providers and health care organizations deeply and sincerely […]
Patient Safety Awareness Week 2022 Addressing racial inequity in healthcare requires focused attention and concerted action. A new initiative in Los Angeles County (now in its third year) is doing just that. Cherished Futures for Black Moms and Babies helps participating hospitals evaluate their data, collaborate with community partners, and implement institutional changes to improve […]
Patient Safety Awareness Week 2022 In this presentation we will discuss who transgender patients are, and review relevant epidemiologic information about this diverse patient population. We will then discuss the treatments and care plans that many patients undergo in the course of care. This discussion will include a brief overview of surgeries, and what these […]
Community and workplace violence is a significant problem worldwide. Understanding how community-based violence spills over into the work setting is key to developing prevention strategies. When healthcare employees are victims of workplace violence, there can be significant psychological and physical trauma to the involved employee and collateral impacts to other staff. A multi-faceted approach is […]
Syphilis continues to be a major public health concern in California, aggravated by the public health challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Emergency departments (EDs) represent an important setting to test and treat patients who are not seen in traditional outpatient clinical settings. The UC Davis emergency department has been screening high risk patients for […]
In 2020, the United States began experiencing the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Severe disease requires hospitalization, which itself poses risk to one’s health, including the risk of falling while hospitalized. Our interdisciplinary team conducted a retrospective study to describe characteristics of in-patient falls in persons hospitalized with COVID-19, those hospitalized with pending COVID-19 […]
Emergency departments (EDs) across the nation are seeing a significant increase in the volume and length of stay of behavioral health patients. This means EDs are caring more for those at the highest risk for suicide attempts. A toolbox with materials to recognize and mitigate ligature risk has been designed for this presentation. Documents will also […]
HQI is offering a two-part webinar series, Health Equity Basics for Hospitals. The aim is to provide hospitals with the latest information on how to operationalize and execute actionable strategies to identify and address racial and ethnic disparities. Achieving equity in quality of care requires that we measure performance. When disparities are identified, improvement interventions must […]