< Back to What's New Archive April 14, 2008 Welcome to the inaugural issue of the AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange Web site!  This issue includes 100 Innovation Profiles that provide windows into a wide range of creative efforts to improve health care delivery in different settings — hospitals, medical offices, nursing homes, community organizations, schools, workplaces, and patient homes.  Start an exchange with the innovators and other interested change agents by posting comments and questions on these profiles.  Our innovators welcome queries from health care professionals who are seriously considering adopting their innovations.  This inaugural issue also includes hundreds of QualityTools that have been updated and reformatted consistent with the Innovation Profiles. Featured in this inaugural issue are the initial six innovations that were posted on the earlier version of the Web site.  We are especially grateful to these first contributors to the Innovations Exchange.  We also feature three new QualityTools. New issues of the Innovations Exchange Web site will be published every two weeks,  accompanied by an e-mail announcement.  Please sign up for our e-mail updates.  We look forward to your participation in a vibrant and active Innovations Exchange community. < Previous Issue | Next Issue > Innovation Profiles: - At-Home Palliative Care for Veterans Enhances Medication Adherence and Connections With Families and Providers, While Also Lowering Costs - Automated Pharmacy Alerts Followed by Pharmacist-Physician Collaboration Reduce Inappropriate Prescriptions Among Elderly Outpatients - Better Integration of Home Health Aides Into the Health Care Team Improves Patient Functionality - Bilingual, Culturally Competent Managers Enhance Access to Prenatal Care for Migrant Women, Leading to Potential for Improved Birth Outcomes - Checklists With Medication Vest or Sash Reduce Distractions During Medication Administration - Church-Based Initiative Supports Volunteers in Providing Education and Screenings to 150,000+ Memphis Residents, Leading to Improved Health Status - Community Collaborative Improves Accuracy of Medication Lists for Elderly Patients in Outpatient Clinic Setting - Comprehensive Emergency Department and Inpatient Changes Improve Emergency Department Patient Satisfaction, Reduce Bottlenecks That Delay Admissions - Comprehensive Initiative to Create a Culture of Safety Significantly Reduces Harm Caused by Medical Errors, Mortality, Length of Stay, and Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia and Infections - Comprehensive Palliative Care Program Improves End-of-Life Care and Pain Control for Terminally Ill Patients - Comprehensive School-Based Program Enhances Access to Oral Health Education, Prevention, and Treatment Services for Low-Income Children - Comprehensive, Hospital-Based Program Significantly Reduces Pressure Ulcer Incidence and Associated Costs - Comprehensive, Multifaceted Program Doubles Staff and Physician Compliance With Hand Hygiene Protocols Over 4-Year Period - Comprehensive, Multilingual Social Services Program Brings Valuable Support to the Elderly, Disabled, and Those With Limited English Proficiency - Computerized, Multilingual Visual Medication Schedule and Teach-Back Protocols Improve Anticoagulation Control for Low-Literacy Patients - Computerized, Previsit Self-Assessment Enhances Communication Between Providers and Patients With Mental Illness - Daily Intensive Care Unit Team Communication Enhances Provider Understanding of Care Goals, Reduces Length of Stay - Daily Multidisciplinary Patient Rounds and Best Practice Bundle Decrease Use of Ventilators in the Intensive Care Unit - Daily Patient-Provider Communication and Data Transfer Using Mobile Phones Improves Outcomes and Reduces Costs for Teens With Chronic Asthma - Data-Driven Community Education and Defibrillator Placement Increase Bystander-Administered CPR and Cardiac Arrest Survival Rates in Atlanta - Donated Care Program Enhances Access to Ongoing Care for Uninsured Patients, Resulting in Significant Reductions in ED Visits, Hospitalizations, and Costs - E-mail Enhances Communication With and Access to Pediatrician for Patients and Families - Educational Game Increases Compliance With Appropriate Hand Hygiene Protocols Among Intensive Care Unit Staff at Academic Medical Center - Electronic Medical Record–Facilitated Workflow Changes Enhance Quality and Efficiency, Generating Positive Return on Investment in Small Pediatrics Practice - Enhanced Posthospitalization Services Prove Popular With the Severely Mentally Ill and Their Providers - Faith Community Nurses Work With Local, Trusted Organizations to Enhance Access to Primary and Preventive Care for Low-Income Individuals in Los Angeles - Gonorrhea Community Action Project Improves Preventive Health Care For Adolescents in Harlem - Hair Stylists Who Serve as Lay Health Educators Encourage Clients to Adopt Behaviors That Reduce Health Risks - Health Coach Program in a Medical Group Improves Self-Care and Decreases Readmissions for High-Risk, Chronically Ill Patients - Heart Failure Disease Management Improves Outcomes and Reduces Costs - Home-Like, Self-Directed Environment Provides Superior Quality of Life Than in Traditional Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities - Medical Emergency Team Reduces Cardiopulmonary Arrests, Unexpected Mortality - Mental Health Court Links Eligible Offenders With Treatment and Monitoring, Reducing Recidivism, and Improving Outcomes - Mobile Outreach Program Enhances Access to Culturally Competent Dental, Mental, and Physical Health Care Services for Underserved, Uninsured Immigrants - Multi-Stakeholder, Community-Wide Collaborative Prevents Disease and Promotes Health - Multidisciplinary Team–Generated Interventions Improve Medication Reconciliation and Patient Safety - Multifaceted Hospital Program Implemented Over a Decade Leads to Lower Nurse Turnover and Length of Stay, Improved Patient Outcomes, and Enhanced Revenues - Multipronged Active Surveillance System Eliminates Common Infection for Patients in Transplant Intensive Care Unit - Nurse Home Visitation Program Reduces Readmissions, Emergency Department Visits, Child Abuse, and Foster Home Placements for Medically Fragile Infants - Nurse-Led Visits and Care Coordination Promote Self-Care and Improve the Health of Diabetic Adults With Severe Mental Illness - Palliative Care Nurses in Primary Care Clinics Reduce Hospital Admissions, Increase Use of Hospice and Home Care for Patients Nearing End-of-Life - Paramedics' Adoption of Established Tool to Measure a Child's Weight Enhances Accuracy of Drug Dosing for Resuscitations - Patient Education and Staff Training Significantly Improves Medication Reconciliation in Outpatient Clinics - Peer Leaders Facilitate Social Engagement Among Dementia Patients in Long-Term Care Facilities - Periodic, Nurse-Initiated Telephone Contact Provides Quality Followup Care to Infants With Lung Disease in Rural Areas - Pharmacist-Led, Grocery Store–Based Medication Review Reduces Falls and Enhances Compliance For Medicare Managed Care Members - Postdischarge Care Management Integrates Medical and Psychosocial Care of Low-Income Elderly Patients - Practice Enhancement Assistants Improve Quality of Care in Primary Care Practices - Primary Care Managers Supported by Information Technology Systems Improve Outcomes, Reduce Costs For Patients With Complex Conditions - Primary Care Practices Improve Patient Satisfaction With Communication of Outpatient Laboratory Test Results - Public Health-Led Disease Management Programs Improve Outcomes for Individuals With Diabetes and Children With Asthma - Real-Time Clinical Reminder System Improves Performance on Quality Measures - Statewide Collaborative Supports Hospital-Based Teams in Developing Improvement Plans for Stroke Care, Resulting in Improved Performance on Select Measures - Strict Adherence to System-Wide Standards and Protocols Significantly Reduces Infections Associated With Central Venous Catheters - Supplemental Remote Physician Rounds Lead to Reduced Length of Stay and Readmissions After Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass Surgery - Team Triage Reduces Emergency Department Walkouts, Improves Patient Care - Transition Coaches Reduce Readmissions for Medicare Patients With Complex Post-Discharge Needs - Two-Track ED Process Flow Reduces the Number of Untreated Patients, Lengths of Stay, and Waiting Times Innovation Attempts: - Faxed Physician Reminders Fail to Improve Antidepressant Adherence - Nurse-Led Assessment and Tailored Intervention Did Not Improve Adherence to Medication Regimens in HIV/AIDS Patients - Wireless Messaging System Has No Impact on Blood Glucose Levels, but Patients Believe It Improves Quality of Care QualityTools: - Guide for Developing a Community-Based Patient Safety Advisory Council - Care Transitions Program Toolkit - Customized State Medicaid Fact Sheets - Drinking and Reproductive Health: A Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Prevention Tool Kit - How to Create an Accurate Medication List in the Outpatient Setting Through a Patient-Centered Approach - Medication-Related FDA Patient Safety Videos < Previous Issue | Next Issue > Last updated: April 14, 2008.

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