Readiness Rounds - Blog , High Reliability OrganizationReadiness Rounds - Blog , High Reliability Organizationhttps://www.readinessrounds.com/blogs/high-reliability-organizationThu, 09 Apr 2026 11:34:00 -0700http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[Hospital Safety in Free Fall]]>https://www.readinessrounds.com/blogs/post/hospital-safety-in-free-fallFor patients in today’s healthcare system, getting the treatment they need can feel a lot like being in free fall. Click here to read more!]]>

For patients in today’s healthcare system, getting the treatment they need can feel a lot like being in freefall. People who are accustomed to being in control of their own lives, suddenly find they must place their safety entirely in the hands of others about whom they know very little. (1)

For patients in today’s healthcare system, getting the treatment they need can feel a lot like being in freefall. People who are accustomed to being in control of their own lives, suddenly find they must place their safety entirely in the hands of others about whom they know very little. (1)


The fact is, medical care has become so complex that even the best trained and most dedicated professionals cannot achieve perfect performance 100% of the time. Humans are, however much we wish to deny it, fallible beings, prone to error. As Atul Gawande notes, even in the strictly regulated environment of an intensive care unit, the average error rate is 1%, which means every single patient is on the receiving end of two errors every single day. In highly fluid environments, such as emergency rooms, the risk of error can be pushed up by stress, busy-ness, and provider fatigue. (3) 


Knowing that healthcare providers are merely human, and recognizing the potentially fatal results of human error in a healthcare setting, how can patients feel more secure when seeking medical treatment? (4) 


Even if 100% perfection remains unachievable, many healthcare providers have drastically improved their reliability by adopting a system of checklists.


Patients can both improve their own safety and encourage providers to adopt advanced safety practices by asking the following questions of their healthcare providers:


Do you use Patient Safety Checklists?


By ensuring that providers do not forget steps and allowing them to reflect on each completed step before moving on to the next, Patient Safety Checklists have proven extremely effective in reducing the risks of medical procedures, such as surgery, childbirth, infectious disease/pandemic management, and trauma treatment.


Do you use a Hand Hygiene Safety Checklist?


Although it may seem obvious that healthcare providers should wash their hands before treating any patient, proper hand washing technique plays a major role in effective prevention of infection.


Do you use a Patient Rounding Checklist?


Rounding Checklists allow facilities to record and evaluate their own level of reliability in safety and patient experience. By using these checklists, providers both improve their quality of care and engage in a continuous process of seeking change for the better. 


Do you use an Environment of Care Checklist?


This checklist allows healthcare organizations to monitor the condition and quality of their facilities, allowing them to identify potential problems and make improvements before trouble arises.

Being a patient need not feel like freefall. By seeking providers who actively a pursue a culture of safety and bolster that attitude with the continuous self-examination inherent in checklists, patients can feel more confident of their safety when undergoing medical treatment. (5)

Sources


(1) www.hospitalsafetyscore.org/


(2) leapfroggroup.org/policy_leadership/


(3) atulgawande.com/books/


(4) ahrq.gov/professionals/quality-patient-safety/


(5) hospitalsafetyscore.org/


(6) Gawande, A. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. New York: Picador; 2010. p. 24.

]]>Tue, 22 Apr 2025 05:11:25 -0600<![CDATA[The ROI of High Reliability Series #1: Tackling High Readmission Rates]]>https://www.readinessrounds.com/blogs/post/the-roi-of-high-reliability-series-1-tackling-high-readmission-rates

The 5 Key Metrics That Drive High Reliability

In this series, we explore 5 key metrics that both drive a hospital towards high reliability but will also give an ROI on process improvement initiatives beyond the initial financial investments.


Today, we look at readmission rates, and will continue the series based on: HAC scores, HCAHPS star ratings, Value Based Purchasing scores, and CMS star ratings.

#1. Tackling High Readmission Rates

The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, implemented in 2012, provides financial incentives for hospitals to reduce readmissions. The average penalty for 2017 is 0.58% and, while that may not seem notable, CMS estimates that total penalties across all hospitals will total $528 million, $108 million more than in 2016.

That’s a lot of money that hospitals could be using for patient care and staffing issues.

So, how can hospitals lower their readmission rates?

1. Upgrade to a digital rounding solution


Use an enterprise-wide digital high reliability platform that collects quality observations and reap these benefits:


  • Streamlined efforts to collect and aggregate data
  • Real-time viewing of reports to determine the effectiveness of performance improvement projects 
  • Regulatory compliance automatically becomes a byproduct of proactive checking
  • Improvement of processes drive high reliability

TIP: Switching to a digitally-based platform may sound overwhelming and costly but the return on investment will typically pay for itself in its first year. Make sure to find a company that will work alongside you throughout the entire implementation process. Partnering with a company that is experienced in the roll-out phase can be priceless.

2. Measure patient experience


Hospitals seeking to improve patient satisfaction have begun tracking patient feedback in real time, improving their patients’ experience on the spot. As noted above, this kind of proactive patient rounding is best achieved in a digital real-time tool.


TIP: Measure more than just what is required in HCAHPS. Ask questions about room appearance, ease of understanding of bill, quality of the food, amenities (e.g., internet access), parking, timeliness of appointments, etc. There are plenty of ways to improve the patients’ experience, gain their trust, and improve your hospital’s reputation today!

3. Implement measures to lower HACs

  • A process that ensures that key elements of care are consistent throughout the facility
  • Systematic observation via digital rounding of actual nursing practices as well as infection prevention and control practices
  • A robust tool to aggregate data so trends can be identified and addressed
  • Strong performance improvement initiatives based on the data aggregation (Use a digital hospital rounding software that incorporates aggregation of data collected as well as personalized consulting to help guide the process.)

Ideally, these measures will include:


TIP: Once you’ve successfully completed a comprehensive HAC performance improvement initiative, don’t stop monitoring the issue. We’ve seen the most well-meaning PI teams fix issues and move on to the next. Without constant monitoring, the issues you worked hard to correct will eventually return. Continual process documentation and data analysis are your only insurance that a systemic issue stays corrected and sustains continuous improvement. 


4. Invest in post-discharge calling


Multiple studies have shown that approximately 20% of patients have a post-discharge event and, of those events, nearly 30% are avoidable.

Post-discharge calling:

  • Confirms patient understanding of discharge instructions
  • Assesses patient transition from the hospital to the home setting
  • Reinforces medication routines and reduce medication errors
  • Sets or confirms follow-up appointments
  • Improves perception of the patient care experience

Post-discharge calling works best when it is


  • Digital
  • In real-time
  • Customizable
  • Centralized
  • Regularly reviewed

This is best implemented when using a solution that sends real-time issues to appropriate contacts. This type of follow-up process ensures that no issues fall through the cracks.


TIP: When using a digital solution for post-discharge follow-up calling, you not only benefit from a streamlined process and its built-in accountability, but the data can be analyzed to create proactive measures that help to eliminate future readmissions.


We will continue to explore the ways in which each of these metrics can offer return on investments in upcoming blog posts...


The Remaining Key Metrics That Drive High Reliability:


#2. Reducing HACs (read step 2 here)
#3. Increasing HCAHPs Ratings (read step 3 here)
#4. Improve Value Based Purchasing Scores (read step 4 here)
#5. Improve CMS Star Ratings (read step 5 here)

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]]>Tue, 22 Apr 2025 02:03:19 -0600<![CDATA[The Resiliency of High Reliability Organizations]]>https://www.readinessrounds.com/blogs/post/the-resiliency-of-high-reliability-organizationsIf your facility is striving for high reliability be sure your course includes resiliency--see how in this blog post.]]>

What is the resiliency of a high reliability organization?

What would a high reliability healthcare organization be resilient to?

First, let’s discuss resilience in general. Described as the ability to not only endure stress but to quickly respond to and recover from inevitable, unpredictable disruptions, resilience seems to be an ongoing process that requires time and effort and engages people in taking a number of steps to not only prevent trauma but to adjust to or recover from it.

Some common examples of resilience:

Water Security: a city with a large number of buildings equipped to harvest and store rainwater is resilient to drought.

Energy: a data center that produces its own energy with solar panels and has backup generators is resilient to a power outage.

Economy: a city with a diversified economy is resilient to the collapse of any one industry.

**Note that resilience is different from recovery. Resilience is robustly designing facilities, infrastructure, equipment, processes and systems to be resistant to interruption and endure change. Recovery is merely a plan and collection of resources used to restore function after an interruption.

A high reliability organization is resilient to environmental, governmental and organizational stresses:

  • Their internal systems are adaptable to change
  • Their people feel important and loyal to the organization’s cause
  • The leadership is involved in all areas of the industry so they know how to stay on track

It’s no different in a healthcare facility.

A Performance Improvement Solution is just one piece of the high reliability healthcare puzzle, along with:

  • Teamwork
    • A Culture of Safety
    • The Electronic Health Record

    Having a complete and adaptable Performance Improvement Solution makes a healthcare facility resilient to many stresses and interruptions common in the industry:

    1. Poor Reputation: ensuring needed EOC repairs are not forgotten and patient complaints are addressed in real time makes the facility resilient to a poor reputation and low HCAHPS scores.
    2. Accreditation Failures: having a system that allows the facility to be survey-ready at all times makes them resilient to survey deficiencies and reimbursement reductions.
    3. Financial Burden: employing a system that improves the quality, efficiency and overall value of the care provided qualifies facilities for financial incentives. When that system also reduces the cost of providing care the facility is especially resilient to financial burdens.
    4. Safety Hazards: vigilantly inspecting and documenting the safety of the hospital environment allows the facility to be resilient to safety hazards.
    5. Preventable HACs: having a complete process for observation of nursing practice, interviewing staff for knowledge and developing improvement strategies makes the facility resilient to preventable HACs.
    6. Leadership and Staff Apathy: keeping senior leadership connected to daily operations allows them to get the know and build trust with the staff, see what it’s like on the front lines and identify obstacles to staff performance. This makes the facility resilient to leadership and staff apathy.

    So, if your facility is striving for high reliability be sure your course includes resiliency. Don’t just have a plan for recovering after a crisis, face it head-on knowing that all the infrastructure you’ve worked so hard to put in place will keep you strong.

    Readiness Rounds has spent the last ten years working one-on-one with clients, coaching them on our high reliability methodology. We have built an all-inclusive system that when implemented system-wide can and will improve a hospital's main performance outcomes, for such metrics as CMS and HCAHPS star levels, readmission rates, survey findings, and more. In fact, as your high reliability partner, we guarantee improvement. 

    Take a look at the case study: White Plains Hospital Pioneers the Country's First High Reliability Approach

    Would you like to see how the high reliability model may help improve your outcomes? We offer free consultations to see how we can work together to achieve your goals. 

    Schedule Free Consultation
    ]]>    Tue, 22 Apr 2025 01:33:53 -0600    <![CDATA[The Art of Breaking Bad News with Digital Rounding]]>https://www.readinessrounds.com/blogs/post/the-art-of-breaking-bad-news-with-digital-roundingThe idea is to celebrate your failures in order to accept your hospital's issues and to implement performance improvement measures]]>

    So, your facility has implemented a great electronic rounding system, and everyone is engaged and on board.

    After your first month or two of consistent rounding, you get your first real look at meaningful, streamlined data and think… UH OH! Wait a minute!


    You were sure your medications were labeled better than that…!

    Surely there aren’t THAT many stained ceiling tiles…!

    Whoa, is anyone labeling central line dressings????

    Now that all this “valuable” empirical data is available,

    the issue is how to present the “negative” information to clinical leaders, the C-suite, and the board?

    The good news is that it can be done, and you can receive a positive response! The ability to break "bad news” and to receive a positive response that will call leaders to action begins well before any data has been aggregated.

    The first step is ensuring the culture of the organization is committed to really seeing the good, the bad, and the ugly, so that all items can be celebrated, including systemic failures!

    Here are some suggestions to ready your organization:


    1. Market your new process internally before it’s implemented.
    2. Have open discussions with leaders and take their feedback and fears to heart.
     
    3. Be sure you have a plan to  the data for performance improvement. 
    4. The next step is to prepare leaders for data transparency.

    Even a seemingly simple change like making a paper process “electronic” can be overwhelming. Be sure you have not only explained the new process and benefits, but also have listened to and considered feedback.

     

    Concerns about staffing resources are valid! The return on investment or the time payoff on the back end must be embraced by leaders prior to the new process rolling out. That being said, the beauty of data transparency often isn’t fully understood until the first reports and dashboards are reviewed.

     

    A quality digital rounding platform will allow easy visualization of top opportunities for improvement. Be ready to act on them!

     

    Data transparency capability may be new to your organization. Suddenly managers, directors, VPs, and the C-Suite ALL know where the issues are within the organization. Prepare leaders for this “new world” of clarity by helping them appreciate the ability to observe real-time failure, improvement, and success.

    5. Celebrate not only successes, but also people partying with confettifailures. 

    Create a culture in which failure identification is celebrated and correlated with the ability to remediate before harm occurs. Finding errors in-process can be a great thing!

    Next, be sure to remind leaders, staff, and PI teams that, although the data itself is empirical, data equates to the safety of real living and breathing humans.

    How to break bad news:

    Here are some "pearls" heard from our Readiness Rounds' clients in referring to breaking "bad news”:

    "The data is what it is. It doesn’t have feelings and it isn’t personal or punitive. The rounders do their jobs, the platform does its job, and the results speak for themselves."

     

    "The patients represented by the data are human beings that deserve the best care and safest environment possible. Each checklist item means potential for success, harm, and satisfaction for our patients."\

     

    "Data also equates to institution's financial status. In order to be sustainable, high-reliability organizations must reduce penalties, reduce hospital acquired infections, and eliminate systemic failures that cause harm. This means knowing where the opportunities for improvement exist."

     

    "All the “little” things add up! When each level of the organization can see their specific successes and improvement opportunities, they can easily pinpoint what to keep doing and where change needs to occur. Continuing to share trended data allows for ongoing monitoring and answers the question, “Is what we are doing working?”

    Overall, data transparency and sharing can be scary, but it is also incredibly valuable! Learn to embrace it and use the knowledge for positive change!

    ]]>    Mon, 21 Apr 2025 23:36:05 -0600    <![CDATA[Medical Errors - How do we make progress? [High Reliability]]]>https://www.readinessrounds.com/blogs/post/medical-errors-how-do-we-make-progress-high-reliabilityMedical Errors - Where do we go from here? See how striving towards high reliability automatically solves our medical error epidemic.]]>

    In healthcare, we are all aware of the prevalence of medical errors. In May of 2016, The BMJ reported that if medical errors were a documented cause of death in the official CDC annual report, it would be the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States. After heart disease and cancer, medical errors are responsible for approximately 250,000 deaths per year.

    We are familiar with these frightening numbers, but where do we go from here? We need actionable, realistic steps to take. That is why we've compiled a list (below), organized by strategies from an individual level, to the healthcare system level, to the industry level.

    So, if you're trying to come up with proactive steps to help reduce medical errors in your facility, this guide will get you started:

    As you can see from the infographic, many of the strategies to reduce medical errors are simultaneous ways to move towards being a high reliability hospital. Readiness Rounds specializes in offering real-time rounding solutions to assist hospitals in the quest for patient safety and quality of care. Readiness Rounds also offers extensive reporting in order to find problem areas and performance improvement tools to address them. Along with team work, a culture of safety, and the EHR, Readiness Rounds brings in performance improvement to complete the High Reliability equation. In striving towards High Reliability, we automatically improve patient safety and reduce medical errors.

    Read more: THE HIGHLY RELIABLE HOSPITAL OF THE NEAR FUTURE 

    and HOSPITAL ACCREDITATION VS. HOSPITAL HIGH RELIABILITY

    And be sure to check out our exclusive High Reliability Infographic here:

    Get Started Now
    ]]>    Mon, 21 Apr 2025 22:39:52 -0600    <![CDATA[Case Study: White Plains Hospital's High Reliability Approach]]>https://www.readinessrounds.com/blogs/post/case-study-white-plains-hospitals-high-reliability-approachWhite Plains Hospital Pioneers Country's First High Reliability Approach]]>

    In this previous article, Readiness Rounds VP of Sales, Justin Wolinski, identified three types of hospitals that work with Readiness Rounds:

    A hospital that is drowning in quality data

    A hospital that is struggling with multiple issues that will result in TJC findings

    A hospital that is a top performer

    White Plains Hospital in New York falls into the third category.  Their HCAHPS star level is in the top 38% nationally.  They have earned numerous awards and recognition including, one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Patient Experience and Cancer Care, both by the Women’s Choice Award ®, a Best Regional Hospital by US News & World Report, the CEO Cancer Gold Standard TM, TJC’s Gold Seal of Approval, just to name a few.

    "Exceptional, Every Day"

    Because of the Hospital’s obvious dedication to quality, in 2017 they elected to incorporate Readiness Rounds’ high reliability methodology into their daily operations to continue to be Exceptional, Every Day as their motto states.

    Dedicated Onsite Support

    In this partnership, Readiness Rounds provides a full-time onsite High Reliability Director because, to be successful, any endeavor must have someone to drive daily logistics as well as support long-term performance improvement and hospital-wide strategies.

    Guaranteed Outcomes

    We also assume financial risk by guaranteeing improvement in performance outcomes.  That guarantee assures certain improvements in six main performance outcomes: 

    • HCAHPS star level
    • CMS star level
    • Readmission rate
    • HAC score
    • VBP score
    • TJC findings

    Regulatory Compliance is a byproduct

    We know that, over time, regulatory compliance becomes a byproduct of high reliability.  White Plains Hospital appreciates how Readiness Rounds’ approach links all applicable observations to corresponding regulatory requirements.  This allows real-time proof of proactive rounding, processes, and results to regulators during survey time.


    Read more about the case study on White Plains Hospital and Readiness Rounds partnership here. 

    Get Started Now
    ]]>    Mon, 21 Apr 2025 22:34:12 -0600    <![CDATA[The Highly Reliable Hospital of the Near Future]]>https://www.readinessrounds.com/blogs/post/the-highly-reliable-hospital-of-the-near-futureHow do we achieve high reliability in our hospitals, and what is currently holding us back?]]>

    The Back Story
    A few blog posts ago, my colleague and infographic virtuoso, high reliablity infographic preview imageput together a wonderful infographic showing how the Readiness Rounds software platform fits in with hospitals that are actively moving towards High Reliability.

    See the 4 High Reliability Musts in Healthcare infographic here.
    The feedback on this infographic has been great and it is apparent a lot of our readers and/or their hospitals are interested and, at the very least, saying they want to get to High Reliability/Zero Harm. 

    So, while that infographic connected the dots for some, I wanted to take an opportunity to explain further how the Readiness Rounds platform fits into the Hospital High Reliability puzzle.

    Over the last several years of development, the Readiness Rounds software has grown from primarily a hospital accreditation tool to a full-blown patient safety, quality of care and patient experience software platform, specifically designed with High Reliability for hospitals in mind. The only one of its kind.


    While the basis for the platform is a comprehensive rounding, checklist, quality data collection tool, the additional value from a closed-loop follow-up system, reporting features, built-in performance improvement prioritization, linkage to regulatory standards (TJC, CMS, etc.) and even an Event and Incident Reporting module make the platform a true High Reliability tool for the hospital wanting to do more than just talk about High Reliability and actually work to get there.

    So what’s missing?


    As you saw from the aforementioned infographic, a High Reliability hospital must establish four different milestones: a radical commitment to teamwork, a patient safety culture, meaningful use of an Electronic Health Record and the conscientious use of a Performance Improvement Platform (like Readiness Rounds).

    While most hospitals have utilized an EHR, less have developed a true patient safety culture, even less have developed the radical commitment to teamwork and very few have adopted a High Reliability process improvement platform hospital wide. 

    What do these four High Reliability approaches mean exactly?


    1) A radical commitment to 

    The traditional social structure of health care organizations is extremely hierarchical, with physicians at the top of the food chain and everyone else arrayed below them. In the past, hospitals that emphasized teamwork as a goal did so without changing the underlying attitudes of the hierarchical system. As a result, employees were often hesitant to question a superior’s decision or even to make a suggestion for fear of scorn, humiliation, or even retribution from the higher-ranking person.

    In order to achieve High Reliability, health care organizations must commit to a kind of teamwork that erases the old hierarchical structures completely. In an HRO, the success of the whole depends on the input of every individual. Each employee’s experience merits respect and each employee must feel able to make suggestions with confidence, knowing that his or her input will be taken seriously. 

    Ask yourself, can or will a nurse at your hospital tell a senior physician they just did something contrary to protocol? 

    2) Patient Safety Culture

    A truly High Reliability health care organization must hold patient safety as its highest goal, uncompromised by other concerns.

    All employees must understand that the fundamental purpose of their jobs, whether they are surgeons, administrators, or maintenance workers, is to provide the safest environment possible for every patient.

    This is not to say that health care HROs should not be profitable (they should), or that they should neglect other areas of operations, but rather that Patient Safety should be the baseline from which all other activities arise.

    3) Meaningful use of Electronic Health Record

    I don’t need to say much here, as we mostly all know the objectives of EHRs are to improve quality, safety, efficiency, and reduce health disparities.

    4) Consciences use of a performance improvement platform

    The most commonly missing attribute.

    In order to become an HRO, an organization must have the capability of handling multiple complex and complicated procedures and processes across all of its widely diverse departments.

    It must be able to establish and track essential protocols and to meet and adapt to changes in best practice requirements as established by all regulatory agencies.

    Clearly, these tasks are beyond the abilities of any one person or even a department.

    In order to function effectively in today’s complex and ever-changing regulatory and technological environment, health care organizations must acquire and make proactive, regularly scheduled and sustained use of a software platform that provides real-time regulatory updates, monitors checklist compliance, and generates accurate metrics for use in determining future process improvements.   

    In Closing

    While these may seem evident to those familiar with a quest for HRO status in health care, they represent a significant re-imagining of how health care works.

    Traditionally structured health care providers face significant changes in how they think and function if they are to merit High Reliability ranking, but if these four attributes are achieved, the day-to-day process of improvement becomes feasible.

    It is critical for the hospital wanting to reach High Reliability/Zero Harm to be able to measure, continually improve and sustain performance. If you agree, contact us here to schedule a free consultation.
    ]]>    Mon, 21 Apr 2025 22:29:16 -0600    <![CDATA[Regulators in the Lobby: Rise & Shine Reduces Findings]]>https://www.readinessrounds.com/blogs/post/regulators-in-the-lobby-rise-and-shine-reduces-findingsHow do we achieve high reliability in our hospitals, and what is currently holding us back?]]>

    In this blog post we're discussing how Rise & Shine–our latest regulatory compliance solution–can help hospitals deal with the tightened CMS rules on unannounced visits.

    This approach helps reduce findings, improves patient safety, and supports sustainable performance improvement.

    Headlines:

    1.  The Tightening Grip of CMS Regulations

    2. 7 Challenges Hospitals Face During Unannounced Regulatory Visits

    4. Key Takeaways

    5. What You Can Do Today to Reduce Regulatory Findings

    In today's healthcare landscape, hospitals are facing increasing pressure from accrediting organizations like The Joint Commission and DNV.

    The rules of unannounced visits from regulatory bodies have been significantly tightened by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) making it crucial for healthcare facilities to be constantly prepared.

    The arrival of regulators is a daunting experience for hospital staff, and leads to heightened anxiety and disruption across the organization.

    Below, we will delve into how Rise & Shine, a SAAS solution, can help hospitals effectively deal with these challenges by proactively reducing regulatory findings, improving patient safety, and promoting sustainable performance improvement.

    The Tightening of CMS Regulations

    Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) regulations have evolved over the years. Hospitals must navigate this stricter regulatory environment, which places a significant burden on staff to maintain compliance consistently.

    7 Challenges Hospitals Face During Unannounced Regulatory Visits

    The arrival of regulators is synonymous with increased pressure, as hospitals must ensure that they are ready to face scrutiny. Here, we will explore some of the challenges hospitals face during unannounced regulatory visits and how Rise & Shine’s Regulatory Preparedness solution can address and support them.

    1. How to get All Departments Checked to Eliminate "Easy" Findings


    Solution: Automation of Checklists When Regulators Arrive


    Why it Works:


    Without well-designed automation, the volume of activities required to be quickly and effectively conduct checklists when regulators arrive is overwhelming.


    → Rise & Shine steps in as a solution to alleviate this administrative burden, allowing hospital staff to focus on essential tasks rather than drowning in phone calls and paperwork.

    2. Response to Unannounced Visits

    Solution: Immediate Mobilization

    Supplementing existing notification practices, Rise & Shine ensures that departments are immediately notified of impending regulatory visits through email and text alerts and provides immediate links to department specific checklists.

    Why it Works:

    → This immediate mobilization enables staff to prepare swiftly and comprehensively.

    3. Issues Fall Through The Cracks With One-Size-Fits-All Checking

    Solution: Customized Checking for Each Department

    Customization is key to avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach. Rise & Shine offers detailed checklists that are electronically loaded and customized for each department.

    Why it Works:

    → Customizable checklists allow departments to address their specific needs and requirements, ensuring that compliance processes are aligned with the unique demands of each area. For example, if a department does not have eyewash stations, the checklist will not display eyewash-related questions.

    4. Manual Tracking Does Not Allow for Real-Time Monitoring

    Solution: Real-Time Monitoring

    The real-time completion dashboard provided by Rise & Shine offers "total visibility into the status of checklist completion and issues discovered.

    Why it Works:

    → This transparency ensures that all necessary tasks are completed promptly. It also enables immediate follow-up if any department is falling behind in their preparations.

    5. The Difficulty of Manually Tracking Larger Issues That Require Follow-Up

    Solution: Follow-Up and Correction

    During the urgency of unannounced regulatory visits, making immediate corrections to identified issues is crucial. But, what about issues that need fixing but can’t be addressed right away?

    Why it Works:

    → Rise & Shine's automation features  assists in managing items that cannot be corrected immediately, such as ceiling tiles or fire door closures. Integration with work order systems streamlines and expedites the process.

    6. Reactive Fixing Isn’t an Effective Improvement Strategy

    Solution: Automated Reporting of Performance Improvement (PI) Items

    One of the standout features of Rise & Shine is its automated prioritization of high-failure items for PI teams.

    Why it Works:

    → This shifts the focus from a "find and fix" approach to a continuous improvement mindset. It allows hospitals to address the root causes of regulatory findings, leading to improved outcomes.

    7. Scrambling During Unannounced Regulatory Visit

    Solution: Drills for Preparedness

    Rise & Shine also offers the ability to conduct monthly drills, including unannounced ones. These drills ensure thoroughness in compliance checks and provide staff with the opportunity to practice and hardwire the processes.

    Why it Works:

    → This proactive, monthly practice approach reduces the likelihood of regulatory issues arising during actual visits.

    Key Takeaways:

    1. Regulatory Visit Changes Will Likely Increase Regulatory Findings

    As CMS tightens the rules around unannounced visits, hospitals face a higher potential for increased regulatory findings.

    2. Automation Provides Sustainable Process

    Deploying an automated solution to address an unannounced regulatory visit provides a sustainable process that won't collapse from a lack of manual administrative support.

    3. Proactive Performance Improvement

    Beyond correcting immediate issues, a structure that easily identifies and launches performance improvement goals will result in improved regulatory outcomes.

    4. Routine Practice

    The ability to conduct drills ensures that hospitals are better prepared for unannounced regulatory visits.

    Conclusion

    As unannounced regulatory visit rules become significantly tightened. Rise & Shine Regulatory Preparedness offers hospitals a lifeline in these challenging times by streamlining processes, reducing findings, and ultimately enhancing patient safety.

    By prioritizing automation, customization, and performance improvement, Rise & Shine is a vital tool in the toolkit of hospitals striving to maintain compliance and excellence in patient care.

    Take Action Now: What You Can Do Today to Reduce Regulatory Findings

    At Readiness Rounds we have taken our approach to hospital high reliability and built the Rise & Shine platform to support hospitals in achieving sustainable regulatory success.

    We would be delighted to show you how this approach can be applied in your hospital.

    Schedule Free Consultation
    ]]>    Mon, 21 Apr 2025 22:29:16 -0600    <![CDATA[The ROI of High Reliability Series #5: Improve CMS Star Ratings]]>https://www.readinessrounds.com/blogs/post/the-roi-of-high-reliability-series-5-improve-cms-star-ratingsWe've created some tips on how to achieve high reliability by improving your overall hospital quality star rating.]]>

    The 5 Key Metrics That Drive High Reliability

    In this series, we are exploring 5 key metrics that both drive a hospital towards high reliability but will also give an ROI on performance improvement initiatives beyond the initial financial investments.

    Today, we are talking about CMS star ratings, read the other installments of the series here: 

    #1. Tackling High Readmission Rates (read step 1 here)

    #2. Reducing HACs (read step 2 here)

    #3. Increasing HCAHPs Ratings (read step 3 here)

    #4. Improve Value Based Purchasing Scores (read step 4 here)

    #5. Improve CMS Star Ratings:

    The Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating is designed to help individuals, their family members, and caregivers compare hospitals in an easily understandable way.  Improvements in the quality star rating also increase the rebate percentage, resulting in increases in revenue. Even a small increase in revenue can be a significant advantage in a competitive market.

    In addition to the financial impact, these ratings affect a hospital’s reputation.

    Therefore, it is imperative to score well.

    The following actions can help improve CMS Star Ratings:

    1. Improve Quality Across All Reported Measures

    Particularly outcome measures and patient experience measures, which receive higher weighting (see chart).

    2. Lower Adverse Events, Readmission Rates and Improving Preventative Care

    We discuss how to lower readmission rates in detail in the first installment, here.

    3. Adopt a High Reliability Mindset

    A high reliability hospital must rely on proactive, high-tech constant checking. Routine digital rounding finds errors before they occur, creates an automatic follow-up infrastructure, gathers quality information to be used for performance improvement. Constant evaluation and improvement will begin to produce real results.

    TIP: A digitally-based platform that streamlines effort, allows executive leadership to quickly assess performance improvement efforts, and sends real-time issues with a follow-up process is the only way to improve across whole facilities and systems. The platform must aggregate data for the whole facility, replacing outdated information silos. 

    ]]>    Mon, 21 Apr 2025 22:17:57 -0600    <![CDATA[The 3 Types of Hospitals that Benefit from Digital Rounding]]>https://www.readinessrounds.com/blogs/post/the-3-types-of-hospitals-that-benefit-from-digital-roundingDiscover the 3 types of hospitals that benefit from digital Rounding. Patient Safety.]]>

    While I could safely say that all hospitals would benefit immensely by utilizing electronic rounding systems, I would like to highlight three specific reasons hospitals work with companies like Readiness Rounds for our many types of electronic rounding formats (i.e. Environment of Care, Clinical Quality, Patient Experience, etc.).

    3 Reasons Hospitals Benefit from Electronic Rounding Formats

    1. Drowning in quality data


    It has been identified that the average hospital conducts over 400,000 quality observations per year. For instance, the Environment of Care team conducts their rounds, the Pharmacy conducts Medication Management rounds, Nurse Managers audit CAUTI, CLABSI, and Restraint processes, patients are rounded on, Open Medical Records are reviewed and Executive Leadership conducts

    observational and staff cartoon of an ipad floating in a life ringinterview rounds for employee and patient experience purposes. Some of these rounds are done on paper, resulting in some poor soul being tasked to aggregate all of that data (which can easily be argued as a waste of an FTE’s time). Other rounds are done on many different, siloed software systems. And then there are those rounds that are still done on the back of a napkin. In a nutshell, you’re data rich, yet

    information poor (except in the napkin scenario of course, that’s just poor all around).

    This discontinuity of data shows why all rounding and/or checklists should be done in the same system. The reasons are endless: streamlining efficiency and ease of use for front line staff, eliminating duplication (duplicative processes are a great way to aggravate staff and lower completion rates of rounds), saving the organization money via cutting down on redundant systems, streamlining rounding and reducing employee costs associated with it (the Readiness Rounds methodology can save multiple FTE-salaries-worth of effort.).

    2. “Uh oh, we are in our TJC window and don’t know how we will do?” Or worse, “we know we will struggle!” Or, “Our HCAHPs scores are lackluster, CMS is on us, we have issues with CAUTI, CLABSI, etc. and HAC penalties.” Or all of the above…

    Unfortunately, this is the most common theme: the place is “burning down” before the organization looks for a solution. Fortunately, a well thought out and

    robust rounding platform, combined cartoon of a hospital on firewith an organizational commitment to dedicating enough resources for adequate data collection and follow-up correction can quickly turn around a struggling hospital’s performance. The key is 1) the right rounding solution and 2) senior leadership committing to backing and supporting its full use.

    Lastly, if the system is robust, it will even allow you to see where you lie in regards to every regulatory (TJC, DNV, CMS etc.) standard and element of performance. Do you know where you stand in regards to compliance and accreditation right this moment?

    3. Top Performers

    You’re looking for the next best thing to further your mission of providing the highest and safest level of healthcare for your patients. You’re consistently performing in most areas in the top percentile, you pass your CMS or TJC (or DNV/HFAP) surveys with flying colors, your staff doesn’t graphic of a gold medal trophy cupstress

    out when TJC shows up (ok, this might be a stretch). Overall you feel pretty confident in your processes and the direction of the organization as far as Quality, Patient Safety and Experience. Part of this reasoning is that you’ve always had strong leadership that embraces changes and is able to mold the culture of the organization to stay ahead of the curve, and being more proactive than reactive (this, in particular, is rare in

    healthcare when it comes to Quality and Patient Experience). Readiness Rounds can complement and improve the already strong processes in place at these types of healthcare organizations.

    In closing, if you feel your organization fits into one of these scenarios, it may well be worth investigating further if moving to a High Reliability methodology makes sense for you. 

    ]]>    Mon, 21 Apr 2025 21:45:32 -0600