WIHI - A Podcast from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Technology is everywhere in health care. It's fast, it's efficient, and it can reduce errors. But, technology is not a cure-all. It can make people complacent, introduce new errors, and get in the way of meaningful face-to-face interactions.

At IHI, we do our best to keep our fingers on the pulse of the health care improvement world — what trends are emerging, what projects are happening, and what improvers need to do their work. And improvement tools clearly make a difference

A lot of the quality and safety improvements that have taken place in recent years in the US — think reducing hospital-acquired infections, creating safety cultures, implementing team-based primary care — have occurred regardless of what was or wasn't happening in Washington, DC. While political debates raged on, somehow the health care quality improvement movem??ent continued to move ahead

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?