The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced yesterday its Final Rule on Meaningful Use. The rule, intended to spell out exactly what will constitute healthcare parties’ appropriate use of electronic health records, has been anticipated since the proposed rule was released in...
True or false: Informed consent includes information on the risks and hazards of a particular treatment, the alternatives or options available to the patient, the risks and hazards of the alternatives or options, and any other information that will help the patient make a well-informed decision...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 8
Shelia Hull, RN, Joint Commission specialist at Pikeville (KY) Medical Center, was with the organization just a few months before the latest PPR was due to The Joint Commission. At that time, Hull and her supervisor discovered the organization had fallen out of compliance with its timing...
All you need to take advantage of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) latest tool is hospital administrative or claims data. Called MONAHRQ (My Own Network, Powered by AHRQ), the free tool is a software program built to allow organizations to analyze data and/or create their...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 8
In April 2008, Baystate Medical Center (BMC), a 653-bed teaching hospital in Springfield, MA, began implementation of its Bar Code Point of Care technology to positively impact medication administration in reducing errors.
The term “malpractice” often invokes images of courtrooms and spiraling insurance rates, but malpractice data can often be used for the purpose of fostering patient safety. In the surgical world, that information is increasingly more important as the amount and types of surgeries performed climb...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 8
Systemic change does require visionary leadership. The board of trustees for our facility established a new three-year strategic plan based on our six indicators of success. One such indicator is Quality & Patient Safety, and the board determined that this indicator should include a vision “...
The concept of a just culture is relatively new to the healthcare industry and has become a critical and necessary component of any organization’s approach to improving patient safety. I have quickly learned the importance of just culture as I review patient safety events, attend root cause...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 8
Patients expect that every safeguard is in place when receiving healthcare services. The challenge is how to make this happen with the complexities of the system in which healthcare is delivered, as safe medication practices lie within the purview of multiple individuals. A 2006 study by the...
