News

Washington State will soon join the Health Research Educational Trust’s (HRET’s) efforts around reducing hospital-acquired infections. The initiative is designed to strengthen infection control programs and practices through robust resources, such as on-demand education, national expert access, coaching and more. Health care has made amazing improvements in reducing infections in hospitals and other care settings, but we’re working to get to ZERO, and infections are relentless enemies.... Read More >>

More than 30 percent of the world’s population suffers from anemia, and cases of anemia increase during hospitalizations. Red blood cell transfusion is currently the primary treatment for anemia, but it’s also one of the most overused. Patient Blood Management can improve outcomes for these patients and save hospitals money. WSHA Senior Vice President of Patient Safety and Quality Operations Jennifer Graves will speak on the topic at the Foundation for Health Care Quality’s Clinical Outcomes Assessment Program (COAP) Annual Statewide meeting June 6.... Read More >>

In most rural communities, access to specialists sometimes means traveling long distances, and very often recurring trips for needed care. It can include not only the cost of fuel to travel, but lodging, meals, care for school-age children or elderly family members while away, someone to look after the farm or business, plus sundry other issues. Telehealth can relieve some of those burdens on rural community members by increasing access to specialist via virtual visits.... Read More >>

In 2015 and 2016, seven women in Washington State gave birth to eight infants with congenital syphilis. In response to this dramatic increase of a preventable disease, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) distributed a letter to women’s health providers outlining recommendations for syphilis screening during pregnancy. Up to 40 percent of babies born to women with untreated syphilis may be stillborn or die from the infection as newborns, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.... Read More >>

The Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR) has received a State Targeted Response (STR) to the Opioid Crisis Grant from the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The total grant award is for $11.79 million for the time period of May 1, 2017 to April 30, 2018. ... Read More >>

When a patient demonstrates signs of imminent clinical deterioration, a team of providers — a Rapid Response Team (RRT) — is summoned to the bedside to immediately assess and treat the patient with the goal of rapid clinical assessment and prevention of harm. WSHA will conduct a survey to learn more about how members have initiated these programs.... Read More >>

A new lookup tool is available that will allow you check if a clinician who bills to Medicare will need to submit quality data to the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). You can do so by entering a provider’s National Provider Identifier (NPI) on the Quality Payment Program website. Clinicians who bill Medicare more than $30,000 in Part B allowed charges a year and provide care for more than 100 Medicare patients a year are included in the Quality Payment Program.... Read More >>

Americans between the ages of 45 and 64 accounted for about 44 percent of overdose deaths in 2013 and 2014, and the number of adults older than 50 seeking treatment for opioid addiction has increased dramatically, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One key strategy to counter this is to empower patients to manage pain with alternatives to opioids whenever possible, such as by controlling daytime pain after surgery with non-opioid medication, or only using opioids at night or not at all.... Read More >>

Nearly 800,000 Americans have a stroke every year, leading to 133,000 deaths annually. Statistics show that someone in the U.S. has a stroke every 40 seconds, someone dies of stroke every four minutes. Stroke is the leading cause of serious, preventable long-term disability.... Read More >>

A national trend on the rise also causing concern in Washington is the dramatic increase in maternal addiction and neonatal abstinence syndrome. To address the increased need for information and resources to treat addicted women and their babies, the Safe Deliveries Roadmap program has focused recent educational sessions for clinicians and staff on how to navigate the rise in maternal addiction.... Read More >>