News

While there’s been considerable progress in recent years to improve the safety of healthcare systems throughout the United States, preventable patient harm still occurs. Across the nation’s healthcare industry, nearly one out of every four patients experience an adverse event, according to an article in The New England Journal of Medicine, and nearly one-fourth of those events is preventable. There are still significant opportunities to improve the safety of patient care.

South Texas Health System has long been committed to providing quality, compassionate care to patients throughout the Rio Grande Valley while implementing patient safety procedures to help reduce harm, prevent suffering and save lives. At South Texas Health System McAllen, the system’s largest acute care facility, Ivonne Lustenberger, MD, MS, FAAFP, DFPHM, CHQM, is helping lead the charge when it comes to patient safety excellence.

Lustenberger, who serves as the medical director of the McAllen Hospitalists Group at STHS McAllen, recently passed the Health Care Quality Management (HCQM) certification exam given by the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians (ABQAURP), which aims to improve the overall quality of healthcare provided to the public.

“It’s rewarding to have obtained the knowledge and skills needed to improve the quality of care South Texas Health System provides to our patients,” said Dr. Lustenberger. “Our vision is to provide care that’s not only effective but tailored to the individual needs and preferences of our patients.”

Established in 1977, ABQAURP is the nation’s largest organization of interdisciplinary health care professionals committed to maximizing patient safety and the quality of care provided to the public by maintaining a culture of educational and certification excellence for all healthcare professionals.

Health Care Quality Management board certification focuses on patient safety, health care quality and effective care. To receive their certification, ABQAURP Diplomates must have the practical knowledge to reduce medical errors, ensure patient safety, eliminate waste and unnecessary services while avoiding potentially harmful delays in care.

Lustenberger has served as the head of STHS McAllen’s hospitalist group for five years, leading the facility’s 13 hospitalists in providing quality, compassionate care to hospitalized patients – from admission through discharge – and managing their treatment plans by coordinating and consulting with specialists, scheduling tests, monitoring their progress and discharging them to their primary care physician.

“As the leader of our hospitalist team at STHS McAllen, this certification will help ensure that we meet the highest standards of healthcare quality, particularly under the principles of patient-centered care,” said Dr. Lustenberger. “Nationally, there are concerns about patient safety, inappropriate waste and readmission rates, which have a significant impact on the overall cost of healthcare in the U.S. With this certification, I hope to effectively address those concerns and ensure our hospitalists efficiently and effectively satisfy the healthcare needs of our patients.” 

Lustenberger, who graduated from the STHS McAllen Family Medicine Residency Program in 2018, serves as the Associate Program Director of the STHS GME Consortium’s recently launched Family Medicine Residency Program, as well as an affiliate clinical assistant professor with Texas A&M School of Medicine. With this HCQM certification, she plans to share her learnings with residents.

“Our physicians in training don’t only play a role in the delivery of exceptional care during their residency, they’re also the future of healthcare,” says Lustenberger. “For their professional development, it’s important they understand the need to improve the overall quality of healthcare provided to the public. I’m committed to helping educate this next generation of physicians while helping strengthen STHS’ reputation as a leader in patient-centered care.”