The hospital is a large, multifaceted organism with thousands of moving parts within dozens of units that are often separated by wings, streets, and buildings. The physical barriers, however, are nearly unmatched by the cultural ones-different techniques, opinions, and views of...
As of March 2013, more than 85% of eligible hospitals are participating in the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Programs, and more than 75% have received incentive payments for meaningfully using EHR technology. EHRs are the future, surely and...
A new collaborative is bringing the meaningful use of checklists to the ambulatory and outpatient setting. The goal is to establish "zero harm," and a key effort in this is to effectively implement safe surgery checklists that include both clinical and safety culture...
In July 2003, The Joint Commission proposed, as part of its Universal ProtocolTM procedures, a requirement for hospitals to perform a timeout immediately prior to a procedure. A year later, the requirement was in effect. Yet since then, even top-notch hospitals have dealt with...
As part of its ongoing mission to eliminate needlestick and sharps injuries in healthcare, Safe in Common has issued the "Top 10 Golden Rules of Safety," a set of guidelines to "unify the industry around efforts to fight needlestick injuries and raise awareness about effective...
The Joint Commission has approved new National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) 06.01.01 on clinical alarm safety for hospitals and critical access hospitals.
Medication safety as a concept seems simple. To ensure patients safely receive the right medication and dose, implement proven methods to avoid errors. To discover those methods, look at where problems almost or actually occur. But in a hospital, a fear-based hierarchy and...
