Trends in Adverse Event Rates in Hospitalized Patients, 2010-2019.

Importance: Patient safety is a US national priority, yet lacks a comprehensive assessment of progress over the past decade.

Objective: To determine the change in the rate of adverse events in hospitalized patients.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This serial cross-sectional study used data from the Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System from 2010 to 2019 to assess in-hospital adverse events in patients.

Excess death estimates in patients with end-stage renal disease - United States, February-August 2020.

This article describes an estimated 6953–10 316 excess deaths among individuals with end-stage renal disease during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020–August 2020 (compared to death rates prior to the pandemic). Notably, the estimated number of excess deaths was reported as 10.8–16.

Excess Death Estimates in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease - United States, February-August 2020.

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a condition in which kidney function has permanently declined such that renal replacement therapy* is required to sustain life (1). The mortality rate for patients with ESRD in the United States has been declining since 2001 (2). However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ESRD patients are at high risk for COVID-19-associated morbidity and mortality, which is due, in part, to weakened immune systems and presence of multiple comorbidities (3-5).

An overview of measurement activities in the partnership for patients.

The Partnership for Patients, launched in April 2011, is a national quality improvement initiative from the Department of Health and Human Services that has set ambitious goals for U.S. providers to improve patient safety and care transitions.

Collaborative clinical quality improvement for pressure ulcers in nursing homes.

The National Nursing Home Improvement Collaborative aimed to reduce pressure ulcer (PU) incidence and prevalence. Guided by subject matter and process experts, 29 quality improvement organizations and six multistate long-term care corporations recruited 52 nursing homes in 39 states to implement recommended practices using quality improvement methods. Facilities monitored monthly PU incidence and prevalence, healing, and adoption of key care processes.

Assessment of the Medicare quality improvement organization program.

Background: Studies have shown improvement in quality of health care in the United States. However, the factors responsible for this improvement are largely unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program in 4 clinical settings by using performance data for 41 quality measures during the 7th Scope of Work.

Comparing various short-form Geriatric Depression Scales leads to the GDS-5/15.

Purpose: To compare three published short GDS scales and to identify a valid and reliable short-form alternative to the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale.

Design: Comparative validation study via retrospective chart review of 816 acute care patients in an 830-bed academic medical center in the USA in 2001.

Methods: Data of the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale, the Mini-Mental State Examination, and demographic data were extracted from medical records after patient discharge.

The effects of implementation of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research urinary incontinence guidelines in primary care practices.

Objectives: To determine whether a multifaceted intervention based on the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) Clinical Practice Guidelines for Urinary Incontinence would increase primary care physician screening for and management of urinary incontinence (UI).

Design: Group randomized trial, conducted from 1996 to 1997.

Setting: Internal medicine and family medicine community practices.