Understanding Health Care Systems and the systems that we used to run them is a complex field of study. Understanding how these concepts relate to each other and are interwoven into the practice of medicine is critical to becoming a leader and ensuring that your patients receive the highest quality of care. After completing this module, the physician will be able to:
On November 29, 1999 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released the sentinel report To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, unveiling to the public the harsh reality that up to 98,000 hospital deaths each year are attributed to medical errors1. This patient safety/quality improvement (PS/QI) clinical fundamentals module aims to define PS/QI as it applies to otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. The module highlights the rationale for PS/QI research.
Patient privacy and security of protected health information (PHI) are governed by federal and state law. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 codified United States federal provisions regarding the handling and protecting of patient information. A detailed understanding of the specifics of these laws is critical to maintaining compliance and ensuring preservation of the privacy rights of patients’. PHI includes anything which may be used to identify a patient (name, date of birth, medical record number, identifying images, and many more). Covered entities (CE) in
