Comagine Health Blog
For many mothers, the postpartum period may be the most medically complex stage of pregnancy. More than half of maternal deaths occur during the postpartum period defined as one day to one year after delivery. There are even more near misses — new mothers who experience pregnancy-related complications that may be avoidable. As with so many other adverse health outcomes, these complications and deaths disproportionately affect low-income families and rural areas with diminished access to high-quality medical care.
As a doula, I see firsthand how hard it can be for mothers to care for a newborn while also trying to meet their own needs. And yet, many complications can be avoided through a combination of increased access to routine…
When I work with clinics on quality improvement projects, it is sometimes difficult to engage teams in the work. They agree that improving the quality of care they provide to their patients is important, but they lack confidence in the data being used to monitor their improvements. Once they believe the data is accurate and reliable, they are more willing to fully participate in QI projects. These are two of the tactics I recommend for improving data validation:
Conduct a Mini…
When people with complex medical and social needs have little support or resources, they may rely on emergency service providers for nonemergent care and even companionship. These high utilizers can overburden emergency medical services and emergency departments, preventing them from addressing true emergencies. The Pierce County Paramedicine Collaboration is a community-driven project to reduce overutilization of emergency medical systems and hospital services by high utilizers while…