“Healthcare facilities across the U.S. continue to face major challenges as they cross what has been deemed a “quality chasm” by some safety leaders. Though the nation is seeing great progress in some areas, others remain overlooked… and even tools meant to boost progress can have downsides. In 2014, Modern Healthcare staff reporter, Sabriya Rice, looked at various aspects of the issue. For example, she delved into the confusion that mixed reviews from multiple different hospital rating sites cause for hospitals and consumers alike. She also looked at how more hospitals and health systems are hiring chief experience officer to improve poor ratings and avoid financial penalties. Although there have been improvements in commonly reported safety events — like hospital acquired infections or surgical mistakes – several types of events that lead to harm remain overlooked. The frequent and rapid introduction of new technology into healthcare, for example, can lead to patient harm if the human factor is not considered or if staffers are not adequately trained. But the sharing of technology errors is extremely limited. And hospital employees often overlook protocols on professional interpreter use when they are rushed, even though language barriers can lead to serious harm or death for ESL patients. Rice’s suite of cover articles dug deeper into the many hurdles being faced on the shaky bridge across the quality chasm.”
