As part of their shared commitment to move the needle on healthcare disparities, The Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente are now accepting applications for the second annual Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity.
Bernard J. Tyson, the late CEO and chair of Kaiser Permanente, worked tirelessly to address the healthcare disparities that plague the U.S. healthcare system. Each year, this award recognizes a healthcare organization for interventions that led to a measurable and sustained reduction in at least one healthcare disparity.
All types of healthcare organizations that directly deliver healthcare and have addressed disparities for any vulnerable population, including but not limited to race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status, may apply. In their application, organizations must provide data demonstrating how they have improved a disparity.
This year's application period extends now through June 30 at 11:59 p.m. CDT. There is no cost to apply.
Visit the Tyson Award webpage for more information and to submit an application. Interested applicants may contact TysonAward@jointcommission.org with questions.
The overprescribing of antibiotics in U.S. outpatient settings is an urgent public health concern. Most of these antibiotic prescriptions are written for acute respiratory tract infections (RTIs), even though antibiotics are inappropriate for treating viral RTIs such as bronchitis, sore throats, common colds, and the flu.
A new study from the May 2022 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, “Clinician Distress and Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Respiratory Tract Infections: A Retrospective Cohort Study,” examined the association between clinician distress and the inappropriate use of antibiotic prescriptions for acute RTIs in adult outpatients.
The researchers evaluated electronic health record visit data linked to annual wellness surveys administered to all clinicians at Boston Medical Center, Boston. Outpatient visits included those in family medicine, general internal medicine, and the emergency department where an acute RTI for an otherwise healthy adult was listed as a primary diagnosis.
Clinician depression, anxiety and burnout were assessed using the National Institute of Health Patient Report Outcomes Measurement Information System and the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index Burnout Composite scale obtained from clinician wellness survey data collected up to six months prior to a patient visit.
Overall, approximately 34% and 50% of clinicians in the study reported depression/anxiety and burnout symptoms, respectively. Findings showed each one standard deviation increase in a clinician’s composite depression and anxiety score was associated with a 28% increase in the odds of an inappropriate antibiotic prescription for an acute RTI. Clinician burnout had no significant association with inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.
Also featured in the May issue are:
- The Atlas Context Data Repository: A Feasible, Acceptable, and Useful Prototype for Context Data Collection and Future Predictive Analysis (eight U.S. healthcare sites)
- Implementing Lean Techniques to Increase the Efficiency of a Rural Primary Care Clinic: A Prospective Controlled Study (Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel)
- Compensation Claims in Danish Emergency Care: Identifying Hot Spots and Blind Spots in the Quality of Care (University Hospital Odense, Odense, Denmark)
- The Impact of Palliative Medicine Consultation on Readmission Rates and Hospital Costs in Surgical Patients Requiring Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas)
- Improving Adherence to Risk Stratification Guidelines Regarding Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis (Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut)
- Addressing the Nursing Shortage in the United States: An Interview with Dr. Peter Buerhaus (commentary)
Access the Journal.
- Dateline @ TJC — Differences Between Joint Commission and CAP Survey: Many labs feel confident about undergoing a survey because they have experienced the College of American Pathologist (CAP) surveys in the past. While it is a helpful experience, there are some significant differences, writes Amy Null, MBA, MT (ASCP), SBB, Associate Director, Standards Interpretation Group, and Surveyor.
- Improvement Insights — Palliative Care: Beyond End-of-Life Care: In our study, “The Impact of Palliative Medicine Consultation on Readmission Rates and Hospital Costs in Surgical Patients Requiring Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation,” from the May 2022 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, we identified significant benefits resulting from palliative care utilization in surgical patients, including decreased hospital cost and hospital readmission rates, writes John House, Kevin Sexton, MD, Howard Corwin, MD, and Hanna Jensen, MD, PhD.
Two books published by Joint Commission Resources have been named 2022 Doody’s Core Titles — meaning they have been identified by subject matter experts as must-have titles by Doody’s Review Service, the leading health care resources reviewer. They are:
- “The APIC/JCR Infection Prevention and Control Workbook, 4th edition,” which was a collaboration between Joint Commission Resources and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), now includes Joint Commission International (JCI) standards. The book represents contributions from highly regarded infection preventionists around the world, written and updated during a global pandemic, and offers timely lessons and strategies to combat COVID-19.
- “Infection Prevention and Control Issues in the Environment of Care, 4th edition,” which was named a Doody’s Core Title for the third year in a row, explains the intersection of environment of care (EC) and infection control (IC), as well as the need for health care professionals in those areas to collaborate to create a safe environment of care for all patients.