{"title":"Hospital saves $1 million by outsourcing laundry.","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Thirty-five percent of hospitals nationwide are outsourcing laundry services, according to the Textile Rental Services Association. Pennsylvania Hospital cut its cost per pound of laundry from 61.5 cents to 46 cents, saving $1 million in its first year of outsourcing. Outsourcing also brought the hospital better inventory control, more efficient delivery, and fewer complaints about missing items.</p>","PeriodicalId":79946,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare benchmarks","volume":"6 4","pages":"42-3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21219987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nurses, patients benefit from evaluation process.","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The privileging process at St. Marys Hospital Medical Center in Madison, WI, provides a framework for professional growth of nurses. Key areas for professional development outlined in the process include intellectual, technical, interpersonal, and ethical. Specific functions and responsibilities are delineated in charts the nurses use to track their progress.</p>","PeriodicalId":79946,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare benchmarks","volume":"6 4","pages":"45-7; suppl 1-2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21219989","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Two health care providers conquer the Web.","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":79946,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare benchmarks","volume":"6 3","pages":"29-30"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21216155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"It's time to beef up your information security.","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":79946,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare benchmarks","volume":"6 3","pages":"31-4"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21216157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Decide to go on-line for the health of your business and your patients.","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Health care providers have an opportunity to help consumers fill their voracious appetite for health information by providing resources on the World Wide Web. Web sites can encourage patients to get more involved in their own care, attract new patients, and make existing patients feel more connected. Successful Web sites are updated frequently and provide interactive elements that allow patients to ask questions or to find others with similar illnesses.</p>","PeriodicalId":79946,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare benchmarks","volume":"6 3","pages":"25-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21216154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Survey shows hospitals are keeping costs down.","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>For the third year in a row, the American Hospital Association's annual survey of more than 5,000 hospitals found little or no growth in hospital costs. The average length of stay for patients continued to drop, declining to an all-time low of 6.1 days. About 23% of hospitals were involved in developing an HMO insurance product independently or through a joint venture in 1997, up from 19% of hospitals in 1994.</p>","PeriodicalId":79946,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare benchmarks","volume":"6 3","pages":"34-5; suppl 1"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21216158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Web site offers database of national guidelines.","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The National Guideline Clearinghouse (www.guideline.gov) features evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for a variety of diseases and conditions on a searchable Web site. The guidelines must meet certain criteria to be included and are presented with standardized abstracts and tables that allow for comparison of guidelines on similar topics. Officials say the easy access and improved credibility should lead to more widespread use of clinical practice guidelines.</p>","PeriodicalId":79946,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare benchmarks","volume":"6 3","pages":"30-1"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21216156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Benchmarking saves hospital $1 million.","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Unlabelled: </strong>Sarasota (FL) Memorial Health care System compared its pharmacy charges with peer hospitals and found it was $15 million below average. A quality improvement team found the pharmacy wasn't charging for all medications at the point of distribution, resulting in lost charges.</p><p><strong>The solution: </strong>a simple process change that saved the hospital $1 million.</p>","PeriodicalId":79946,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare benchmarks","volume":"6 2","pages":"22-4"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21215190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Creativity catches on with ED staff.","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Tennessee hospital emergency staff vie for appointments to the \"PIT Crew,\" a performance improvement team that is racing to cut waiting times. Arkansas emergency department director uses military humor to impress upon staff the importance of improving patient satisfaction. Improvements include protocols for common complaints, portable two-way radios, and a glassed-in area for patients waiting for test results.</p>","PeriodicalId":79946,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare benchmarks","volume":"6 2","pages":"19-20"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21215188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Benchmarking: one of your CEO's favorite tools.","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Benchmarking ranked third in an annual survey by Bain & Co., a Boston-based consulting firm, of the top management tools used around the world. Benchmarking is the only tool in the survey that has consistently risen in popularity over the last five years. Bain & Co. says there is a correlation between financial success and the ways tools such as benchmarking are used.</p>","PeriodicalId":79946,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare benchmarks","volume":"6 2","pages":"20-2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21215189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}