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Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Pneumonia and Surgical Care
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Heart Attack/Heart Failure
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Pneumonia
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Surgical Care
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General Quality Information
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Hospitals - Minnesota-Specific
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Hospitals - Other Resources
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Other Health Care Settings
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General Sites
For the three clinical areas that are currently addressed in the Minnesota
Hospital Quality Report, here are several resources to consider.
For those interested in viewing the Minnesota Hospital Quality Report data in
spreadsheet form for research or other purposes, click below.
Data Download
American Heart Association
This site provides resources and information on heart disease, including tips on
primary prevention of heart attacks and strokes:
www.americanheart.org
Minnesota Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention
The 2004-2010 Minnesota Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention Plan provides a
blueprint and call to action for individuals, communities, and organizations to
collaborate to reduce the incidence, complications and mortality rates of heart
disease and stroke:
www.health.state.mn.us/divs/hpcd/chp/cvhplan/index.html.
Minnesota First Lady’s Heart Health Initiative
This initiative, designed to help Minnesota women recognize their risk for heart
disease, includes a Web site with information about heart disease warning signs,
risk factors and action steps for prevention. It also includes links to
national campaigns, The Heart Truth and Go Red for Women:
www.hearthealth.state.mn.us
WebMD’s Heart and Vascular Health Center Heart
disease is one of the leading causes of death in America. Find in-depth
information on heart disease risk factors, symptoms, treatments,and prevention.
Read the latest research on heart attacks, heart failure, atrial fibrillation,
high cholesterol and high blood pressure:
www.webmd.com/diseases_and_conditions/heart_and_vascular.htm
Womenshealth.gov
From the National Women’s Health Information Center, this site provides many
resources and tools for reducing risks of developing heart-related problems in
women:
www.womenshealth.gov/heart/
American Lung Association
Pneumonia can have more than 30 different causes, but prevention is possible.
Learn more about this serious disease:
www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35691
American Medical Association
This PDF describes the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of pneumonia:
jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/283/6/832
(links to a PDF)
Minnesota Department of Health
provides an overview of pneumococcal disease, which can cause pneumonia. This
site includes basic information about the infection in children and adults,
prevention activities, provider resources, vaccines for children, and Minnesota
statistics on the disease:
www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/pneumococcal/
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
The AHRQ Web site provides access to a Having Surgery? What You Need to Know for
patients who are facing surgery that is not an emergency. This may help you and
your family understand more about surgery, whether it has to be done right away
or can be done later. Your doctor or nurse also can help you understand what is
being done and why.
http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/surgery/surgery.htm
There are a variety of strong, useful resources for consumers interested in the
quality of the health care they receive. Here are resources for hospitals, both
Minnesota-specific and national, as well as resources for other health care
settings and ones that are more general.
Minnesota Department of Health
The Minnesota Department of Health Web site includes information on health
statistics, programs, forms, Minnesota health care facilities, etc. View it at:
www.health.state.mn.us/
Stratis Health
The Stratis Health Web site includes information for both providers and consumers
related to all health care settings. Educational offerings statewide and a
variety of tools and resources are available. The Web site also addresses
specifics about Medicare for providers and consumers, via its long-standing
contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to serve as the
Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Minnesota.
www.stratishealth.org
Minnesota Hospital Association
The consumer area of the Minnesota Hospital Association site suggests questions
and issues consumers could consider when choosing a hospital. It also includes
a hospital directory.
The site includes information about the state’s adverse health event reporting
system, which results in an annual report. Prepared by the Department of
Health, the report itself offers consumers tips on how to put this information
to use:
www.mnhospitals.org/index/consumer1
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota’s “Health Care Facts”
Blue Cross’ resource offers a variety of safety, quality, services and cost
information about Minnesota hospitals:
www.bluecrossmn.com/public_services/healthcarefacts/searchForHealthcareFacility.action
Individual hospitals’ Web sites
Click here
for a directory that includes links to individual hospitals’ Web sites.
Hospital Compare
This site helps consumers compare the quality of care that hospitals in their
area provide to adult patients with specific medical conditions. The
institution was created through the efforts of the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services and organizations that represent
hospitals, doctors, employers, accrediting organizations and others:
www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
The commission evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 U.S. health care
organizations and programs. An independent, not-for-profit organization, the
commission evaluates organizations’ compliance with standards and other
accreditation requirements:
http://www.jcaho.com/
The Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group, an initiative created by more than 170 companies and
organizations that buy health care-related services and products, says it
focuses on “mobilizing employer purchasing power to alert America’s health
industry that big leaps in health care safety, quality and customer value will
be recognized and rewarded”:
www.leapfroggroup.org
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is a not-for-profit organization
driving the improvement of health by advancing the quality and value of health
care. Founded in 1991 and based in Cambridge, Mass., IHI offers comprehensive
products and services:
www.ihi.org
Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement
The Institute for Clinical Systems (ICSI), a collaboration of health care
organizations, is an objective voice dedicated to championing health care
quality and to helping its members identify and accelerate the implementation
of best clinical practices for their patients:
www.icsi.org
Minnesota HomeCare Association
The Minnesota HomeCare Association (MHCA) is a statewide, non-profit association
whose purpose is to promote the delivery of quality health care and supportive
services in a variety of home living environments. The site contains
information for both consumers and providers.
http://www.mnhomecare.org/
Minnesota Department of Health
The Minnesota Department of Health Web site also includes information on quality
issues in health care facilities other than hospitals, such as nursing
homes.
www.health.state.mn.us/
Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety:
Interested in how you can keep better track of your own medicines to help
prevent potential medication errors? The Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety
provides tools for consumers to use on that front, along with other resources.
The alliance is a unique collaboration of more than 50 health care
organizations in the state. It was formed by the Minnesota Hospital
Association, the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Medical
Association:
www.mnpatientsafety.org
Minnesota Community Measurement Program:
Quality at clinical groups is measured annually and reported through this
resource, which is supported by Minnesota health plans and the Minnesota
Medical Association:
www.mnhealthcare.org/
Hospice Minnesota
Hospice is a specialized form of care for individuals in the last stages of a
terminal illness. Today hospice care provides physical, emotional and spiritual
support for dying individuals and their families:
www.mnhospice.org
Minnesota Health & Housing Alliance
The Minnesota Health & Housing Alliance is Minnesota’s largest statewide
trade association for providers of older adult services. The association
represents the complete continuum of care, including nursing home care, senior
housing with supportive services, independent senior housing and
community-based services:
www.mhha.com/
Care Providers of Minnesota
Care Providers of Minnesota is a membership organization of more than 300
long-term care, senior housing and assisted living organizations in Minnesota.
It provides information for consumers about events, health care jobs, referrals
and insurance:
www.careproviders.org/
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
Use the search function on this site to find out more about various diseases and
health topics:
www.cdc.gov/
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
This site provides a good overview of health conditions and diseases:
www.mayoclinic.com/health/DiseasesIndex/DiseasesIndex
Do-
The American Heart Association and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota are
encouraging Americans to add more physical activity to their daily lives. The
Do- campaign calls for at least 10 minutes of activity three times a day:
www.do-groove.com/
Healthy People 2010
Managed by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Healthy People
2010 challenges individuals, communities, and professionals to take specific
steps to ensure that good health, as well as long life, are enjoyed by all.
Includes link to dietary guidelines:
www.healthypeople.gov/
Agency for Healthcare Quality & Research
This federal government site was designed for people and organizations trying to
educate consumers about health care quality. In particular, it is intended to
help those who are providing consumers with information on the performance of
health plans and providers:
www.talkingquality.gov/
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