News

A new study conducted for the American Hospital Association has found that Medicare patients who receive care in a hospital outpatient department are more likely to be lower income and have more severe chronic conditions than Medicare patients treated in an independent physician’s office. The study highlights why proposals under consideration by Congress to reimburse hospitals the same amount as physician’s offices could threaten access to care for the most vulnerable patients and communities.... Read More >>

All patients need pre-op evaluation, but a low-risk patient having a low-risk procedure does not need pre-op testing. A recent study in Washington State found that at least 100,000 patients received unnecessary pre-op testing during a one-year period, costing more than $92 million.... Read More >>

Membership updates from the September 27, 2018 Weekly Report.... Read More >>

The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) and the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS) have established the Northwest Safety and Quality Partnership. The new partnership combines health care quality and safety initiatives from both associations to serve all 169 hospitals and health systems in Washington state and Oregon, making health care safer for patients and caregivers in both states.... Read More >>

Through October 4, Weekly Report will profile the nominees for this year’s Community Health Leadership Award, which will be given out at the Annual Meeting October 11 in Seattle. ... Read More >>

WSHA and partners have released a toolkit for nurse staffing committees to ensure compliance with HB 1714: the 2017 nurse staffing law. All hospitals are required to have a nurse staffing committee, and significant portions of the new law take effect January 1. ... Read More >>

The Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) acknowledge concerns expressed about the recently released Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) Hour-1 bundle and the appropriateness of implementation in the United States. ... Read More >>

A new report from Stericycle shows that its sharps management program helped hospitals keep more than a million pounds of plastic and 89,000 pounds of cardboard out of landfills in 2017. The program also saved emissions of more than 600,000 pounds of carbon dioxide... Read More >>

WSHA’s Safe Deliveries Roadmap started in 2013 as a homegrown effort to promote evidence-based practices that lead to better obstetric health outcomes in Washington State. It has since grown to a multi-state program to improve care for women and babies at every stage: pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, delivery and postpartum. We are now thrilled to unveil new branding and icons for the Safe Deliveries Roadmap to reflect the way the program has grown and the scope of its work.... Read More >>

As the cost of living in Seattle continues to rise, more and more residents are being forced into homelessness. Once experiencing homelessness, other needs — such as finding proper health care — can often become a lesser priority than the daily struggle of finding a safe space to sleep.... Read More >>