The lab manager reported to me that an employee had a body fluid splash to the mouth, and the manager and the employee both wanted to know if it should be reported. At this point, the story breaks down into two pathways of discussion, one about lab exposures and one about the safety culture....
While technology can help case managers speed up their workflow and identify high-risk patients, it can also introduce bias into processes. Learn how to prevent technology-based bias in patient care.
Almost 90% of hospitals surveyed by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023, were cited for deficiencies under one of the accrediting organization’s main infection prevention and control (IPC) standards.
If you have reason to believe your hospital may be subject to a complaint investigation by your accrediting organization (AO) or CMS, the best strategy is to be prepared with documentation, including evidence of how the patient safety problem was handled and what, if any, corrective measures...
One of the many lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic is that medical gas system capacity is an important consideration. I suspect a lot of folks are giving serious consideration to how best to shore up (and build upon) existing oxygen capacity, in the event that there is another...
Hospital leaders only need to glance at the headlines from the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration’s Diversion Control Division to see the pervasiveness of drug diversion in hospitals.
There is not one hospital in the United States that is immune from disasters, whether caused by internal system failures or events externally directed at them and the communities they serve. Yet many of the nation’s healthcare organizations make preparedness a low priority and fail to build the...
In 2022, the Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario embarked on a journey to prune away the rules that hindered care and comfort in their Department of Emergency Medicine. The project was lead by Louise Rang, MD, FRCPC, RDMS, who attributed their success to a fantastic team and a budget line...
Well, not strictly speaking—I’m pretty sure we’ve been working on preparedness in the ambulatory care settings for a while now. I suspect that this is more of a recalibration to ensure that all applicable elements of the CMS Emergency Preparedness Final Rule are clearly accounted for in all the...
Make strategic use of alternate equipment management (AEM) plans to streamline your facility’s workload and eliminate unnecessary testing, suggests Richard L. Parker, CHFM, CLSS-HC, FACHE, FASHE, associate director of life safety and physical environment for the Accreditation Commission for...
