Survey Reveals that HMOs Made Improvements in Quality of Care During 1999
The nonprofit National Committee for Quality Assurance, which helps employers gauge the quality of their health insurance plans, studied clinical quality measures and reported that the industry had made significant gains in 1999. The analysis is based upon 466 health plans that insure about 51 million people. The most noteworthy progress is in improvements in heart-disease prevention and childhood immunizations. The survey also reported areas that need improvement. Two major areas of concern are patients with asthma and preventative medicine (e.g., diabetic-eye exams and cervical-cancer screening). For more information visit www.ncqa.org.
Beyond the Surface: Rethinking Environmental Hygiene Validation at Exchange25
June 30th 2025Environmental hygiene is about more than just shiny surfaces. At Exchange25, infection prevention experts urged the field to look deeper, rethink blame, and validate cleaning efforts across the entire care environment, not just EVS tasks.
Getting Down and Dirty With PPE: Presentations at HSPA by Jill Holdsworth and Katie Belski
June 26th 2025In the heart of the hospital, decontamination technicians tackle one of health care’s dirtiest—and most vital—jobs. At HSPA 2025, 6 packed workshops led by experts Jill Holdsworth and Katie Belski spotlighted the crucial, often-overlooked art of PPE removal. The message was clear: proper doffing saves lives, starting with your own.