Protective gowns are a foundational element of laboratory and infection prevention safety programs, yet documentation practices around PPE procurement can be inconsistent.
When patient harm leads to litigation, the warning signs are often already present in the record—or notably absent from it. Learn how early event reporting, documentation practices, and structured handoff systems can shape a hospital’s legal defensibility.
ECRI released its annual report to identify the top 10 health technology hazards that experts believe warrant greater attention in 2026. The report offers practical solutions to address each hazard and safeguard patient care.
Accreditation and quality leaders face mounting pressure from multiple directions, exposing weaknesses tied to higher stakes. What once resulted in corrective action plans is more frequently turning into repeat citations, condition-level findings, or downstream legal exposure.
Advances in technology, changing insurance models, and the continued emergence of new pathogens are shifting where and how care is delivered. Hospitals are no longer the only option for many types of care, and outpatient facilities are taking a larger role.
Medication reconciliation remains one of the most critical and challenging components of patient safety, particularly during transitions such as admission, transfer, and discharge. Discrepancies in medication lists, missed doses, and communication gaps can lead to preventable harm, especially in...
Hazardous waste is a routine byproduct of medical laboratories, and proper handling and disposal are critical for workplace safety and regulatory compliance. Federal legislation enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requires laboratories...
Intensive care units (ICU) are among the most controlled clinical environments in a hospital, but they also present unique security challenges. Emotions often run high when patients are critically ill, and family members facing life-threatening situations may react unpredictably in moments of...
Emergency response time is increasingly being viewed as a core indicator of hospital staff and patient safety performance. While traditional safety metrics, such as falls, infections, and sentinel events, document what has already happened, response time reveals how well a system performs while...
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems do more than just heat and cool air. During optimal performance, HVAC systems also control humidity, establish directional airflow or pressurization relationships between spaces, filter and dilute recirculating air, and flush contaminants...
