Issues & Trends
American Hospital Association content on issues and trends in the health care field.
Trustee Talking Points
Trustee Talking Points
Sepsis is a leading cause of death and the most expensive condition treated in hospitals.
Nearly half of patients who die in the hospital have sepsis.
Many hospitals have given sepsis control less attention than other types of patient harm.…
Hospitals are making “substantial progress in improving safety,” according to an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality report that found a 17 percent decline in hospital-acquired conditions from 2010 to 2014. That saved 87,000 lives and nearly $20 billion in health costs. HACs include adverse…
More than 40,000 health care information management professionals, clinicians, executives and vendors from around the world will attend HIMSS annual conference and exhibition Feb. 29-March 4 in Las Vegas. Peyton Manning, the National Football League’s five-time most valuable player, will…
The number of new cases of diabetes diagnosed in the United States declined significantly from 2009 to 2014 after steadily rising for 25 years, according to data released in December by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The country recorded 1.4 million new cases in 2014, down from 1.7…
The American Hospital Association last month awarded its 2015 Shirley Ann Munroe Leadership Award to Vince Oliver, CEO and superintendent of Island Hospital in Anacortes, Wash. The award honors small or rural hospital leaders who have improved health care delivery in their communities through…
Misprescribed in Pediatrics
50%: An estimated half of antibiotic prescriptions given during pediatric office visits are inappropriate.
Source: Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report, Aug. 20, 2015
Deeply held beliefs can blind boards to the true nature of change. It’s time to challenge the orthodoxies. In the early 2000s, the Nokia board debated creating a smartphone. The company’s wireless handset was the global best seller. Management believed consumers would not use a touch…
American Hospital Association leaders like to say that every day is advocacy day, and that there is no better advocate for your hospital than you, the hospital trustee.
After 40 years in health care, eight as top executive at the American Hospital Association, RICH UMBDENSTOCK, 65, concluded his career at the end of August. He’s meeting some final commitments for the association through this month, but plans to step away from the field to spend some time…
The U.S. birthrate rose 0.6 percent in 2014 to 62.9 per 1,000 women, the first increase since 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Birthrates rose 3 percent for Asian/Pacific Islanders and 1 percent for whites, and fell 9 percent for teens, 3 percent for American…