It’s the 21stcentury, and the importance of communication cannot be understated. Crafting an effective message is key for so many patient safety and accreditation compliance challenges, whether it’s getting staff to follow hand-washing policies, convincing communities to get screened...
The fire began in the university chemistry laboratory and quickly got out of hand. The local fire department was called as the flames became too much for extinguishers to handle. When the fire trucks arrived, the battalion chief asked for a chemical inventory so that his crew would be aware of...
Emergency showers, manufacturer instructions, staffing and personnel issues—these are some of the standards that laboratories are struggling with, according to the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC). In its fall/winter 2021 edition of ...
When a medical error occurs, the investigation should start with why the mistake happened and examine the systems and processes before asking who made the mistake. While there does need to be accountability if standard practices were not followed, healthcare systems must...
Someone’s always checking for compliance when it comes to fire safety, especially in healthcare facilities. Naturally, that includes several regulatory agencies: CMS, The Joint Commission (TJC), Department of Health, and the local fire department, just to name a few. They will all be looking for...
Although healthcare has always been fast-paced and complex, the pandemic has amplified these challenges and introduced dynamics that can put patient safety and quality care at risk. Mounting staff shortages due to unprecedented levels of burnout are forcing hospitals and health systems to care...
Some safety professionals are lucky enough to be able to constantly focus on their safety program. But in many organizations, managing safety is not a full-time job. Often, safety professionals must oversee the safety program while managing other day-to-day operations and programs. Either way,...
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in its March 2022 cybersecurity newsletter reported that throughout 2020 and 2021, hackers have targeted the healthcare industry...
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a great many things for healthcare, but it may have a particularly lasting impact on infection prevention programs. As the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology commented in a statement, “The pandemic has highlighted the need to strengthen infection prevention and...
