WIHI - A Podcast from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Best practices for older or elderly patients aren’t always top of mind, and practitioners don't always know how they might do things differently. Now, a small group of health systems is about to test some new, evidenced-based interventions that promise to model for the rest of the industry the types of changes needed

So, does everyone have a documented health care proxy? None of us likes to imagine being unable able to speak for ourselves when it comes to our health care. But situations arise throughout our lives when we need a trusted person to communicate with doctors and nurses on our behalf. And, if we are facing care decisions near the end of life, a trusted proxy can play a crucial role ensuring our wishes are respected.

There’s a lot of attention being paid to developing new models to care for and support patients with multiple, complex health problems. And for good reason.

Making sure patients get the right care, in the right place, at the right time couldn’t be a clearer set of aims. And yet achieving them isn’t so simple, especially at large health systems.

What do communities in Northeast Wisconsin, Scotland, and Boston have in common? Increasingly, they share a view of what it takes to build coalitions and collaborations that can change the trajectory of people’s lives and health for the better. And in all three locations, the methods and tools of quality improvement to tackle socioeconomic issues are proving to be a game changer.

Most of us know what it feels like to have an interaction with someone that can feel rushed, incomplete, maybe even abrupt or downright rude. What are the consequences of these encounters?

We are heading into the new year more determined than ever to help hospitals and health systems make greater gains in reducing harm to patients, anchored by a renewed focus and new framing. What is your plan for patient safety in 2017?

A little over 13 years ago, a team of researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that adults in the US receive only about half the care that’s recommended to prevent, treat, and manage some 30 leading causes of illness and death. Has the situation improved? Not nearly enough.

WIHI is pleased to present a Special Edition Podcast, featuring Rishi Manchanda of HealthBegins, discussing why it’s important for health care to “move upstream” to address the social determinants contributing to many patients’ poor health.

Against a backdrop of hundreds of improvements that are being tracked and reported on by thousands of health systems in the US alone, guidance on which measures are most important to the pursuit of better care, better health, and lower cost couldn’t be more timely.

We like to think that robust safety cultures are so common in health care organizations today, everyone is comfortable pointing out missteps and discrepancies to their colleagues and even getting better at bringing them to the attention of their supervisors. Not so fast.

Systems of safety, culture change, reliability, and a continuous learning system. These are not just theoretical concepts; they’re grounded in a lot of keen observations and careful work over many years and may be key to sustaining improvements in safety.

A lot has been said and written over the years about the important role family caregivers play on behalf of loved ones with various health conditions and disabilities. But acknowledgment of the estimated 42 million family caregivers in the US alone hasn’t always translated into needed support.

Are patients and family members feeling more positive about the experiences they’re having in the US health care system? Are they feeling more connected to their care teams? With so much attention being paid to improving patient satisfaction scores, and with patient-centered care so central to just about every health care organization’s strategic goals and mission, you’d think the answer would be a resounding yes.

What do we want from electronic health records? Well, it all depends on who you ask. If you ask health care providers — doctors, nurses, and other practitioners — be prepared: they often have long lists of frustrations with the very tools that promised to make taking care of patients a lot more reliable, safe, and efficient.