Takeaways from Harvard’s Improving Global Health: Focusing on Quality and Safety ed-x course
Today, on my first day of Thanksgiving Break, I chose to sign up for an online course on Public Health and I found one on EdX called Improving Global Health: Focusing on Quality and Safety by Harvard University. The title instantly enticed me and so I signed up for the course and began. The rest of my blog entry for today will recap everything I learned from this course.
Ashish Jha, Professor at Harvard School of Public Health
Poor-performing healthcare systems
43 million people per year injured from unsafe care in hospitals
We need healthcare to be part of the solution
Quality
Institute of Medicince
A body in the United States that advises Congress on policy
They define quality as (The IOM 6):
Safe
Effective
Efficient
Timely
Patient-centered
Equitable
Compare the quality of phone to the quality of healthcare
Priority: Hospitals can’t hurt people
Dr. David Bates
Bad things that can happen in a hospital
Adverse Drug Event
Any injury caused by medication
Happens between 7-15% of all ppl admitted
70% is preventable
Hospital Acquired Infection
3%
80% is preventable
Ex
Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infection
Urinary tract infections
Surgical site infections
Clostridium difficile (in the gut)
Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia
Most of these are preventable
Fall
1%
Pressure Ulcer
Aka “bed sore”
Develops from immobility
3%
Surgical Complication
2%
Wrong-site surgeries are rare but bad when occur
Deep Venous Thrombosis
3%
Developing a blood clot
Can lead to pulmonary embolism
Medications and mechanical devices to increase blood flow help
Internationally, 10% of admitted ppl in hospitals in developed countries are affected
Others:
Counterfeit drugs
Unsafe injections
Birth-related injuries
Differences in low to middle-income countries
Adverse Drug Event risk is lower
Because fewer drugs are used, too expensive
Birth-related injuries
Much higher in developing countries
