Resources

Avatar has added the following links to outside websites to assist those looking for healthcare information.


URL Description
http://nnlm.gov/outreach/consumer/multi.html Consumer Health Information in Many Languages. This service by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine offers health information in a multitude of languages other than English. Languages offered currently: Arabic, Cambodian/Khmer, Chinese, French, German, Hmong, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese.
http://www.rwjf.org/qualityequality/pp.jsp The Robert Wood Johnson's Promising Practices initiative offers detailed toolkits with video and specific information on improvement ideas. The pages show the steps that were taken to improve and list the facilities that participated.
www.jcipatientsafety.org Patient Safety Practices: an online resource for health care professionals and the public. Over 900 links to trusted patient safety websites are provided, with tips, tools and resources for addressing patient safety problems. The problem categories and topics have been culled from the Joint Commission's Sentinel Event Database.
www.hcahpsonline.com Get the latest information on the HCAHPS survey regarding implementation rules, quality improvement and HCAHPS survey data reporting.
www.cahps.ahrq.gov The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Web site provides practical health care information, research findings, and data to help consumers, health providers, health insurers, researchers, and policymakers make informed decisions about health care issues.
www.qualitynet.org Established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), QualityNet provides healthcare quality improvement news, resources and data reporting tools and applications used by healthcare providers and others.
www.nursecredentialing.org The leading nursing credentialing organization in the U.S., the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) is passionate about helping you as an individual nurse or as a team of nurses in a healthcare setting on your journey to nursing excellence. With ANCC, you will enrich your professional and personal development, increase your exposure to issues within the nursing community, and contribute to your profession's advancement and commitment to quality patient care.
www.ashp.org This site is a forerunner in Medication-Use System Safety Strategies
www.ihi.org The Institute for Healthcare Improvement is driving the improvement of health by advancing the quality and value of health care. They are instrumental in patient safe, timely, effective, patient-centered care.
www.npsf.org NPSF is focused on improving patient safety through identifying, creating and applying a core body of knowledge; identifying pathways to apply the knowledge; developing a culture of receptivity to patient safety; and raising public awareness about patient safety.
www.ahrq.gov The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Web site provides practical health care information, research findings, and data to help consumers, health providers, health insurers, researchers, and policymakers make informed decisions about health care issues.
www.hfma.org The Healthcare Financial Management Association is a member-driven organization focused on finance and billing issues in the healthcare arena. In 2003 they published “Patient Friendly Billing”, offering tools and techniques to improve the patient financial experience. They also provide scripts and advice for healthcare providers.
www.ahqa.org The American Health Quality Association represents Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) and professionals working to improve the quality of health care in communities across America. QIOs share information about best practices with physicians, hospitals, and nursing homes. Working together with health care providers, QIOs identify opportunities and provide assistance for improvement.
www.storytellingcenter.com The International Storytelling Center helps healthcare specialists, therapists, and those who minister to others to use storytelling to comfort the sick and dying, promote healing, and create a more nurturing environment for people to deal with the trials of pain, suffering, and grief.
www.cmwf.org The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation that supports independent research on health and social issues and makes grants to improve health care practice and policy. The Fund is dedicated to helping people become more informed about their health care, and improving care for vulnerable populations such as children, elderly people, low-income families, minority Americans, and the uninsured.
www.patientfriendlybilling.org The Patient Friendly Billing® Project is a nationwide initiative to make financial communications to patients clear, concise, and correct. The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) leads the initiative, in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA), the Medical Group Management Association, and other leading provider, consulting, and technology organizations.
www.cdc.gov/nchs CDC.gov is your online source for credible health information and is the official Web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
www.greystoneinteractive.com This site provides resources and best practice information in the areas of Customer Service, Employee Commitment and Leadership Development. Books, quotes and services related to these topics are available in mini-search formats.
www.nist.gov Details the performance excellence criteria used for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, a nationally recognized award given in business, education and healthcare.
www.phiprivacy.net Phiprivacy.net chronicles patient health information breaches in the health industry. A chronology of breaches is available dating back to 2003. The site is run by a licensed health care professional who is concerned about privacy issues and civil liberties.
www.innovations.ahrq.gov AHRQ's Innovations Exchange website offers a searchable database of innovative practices documented by health facilities. The innovation profiles can be browsed and each one is presented in a case study format. See news item here.