In November 2000, the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act (NSPA) was passed by the federal government. The act, which was adopted by OSHA under its Bloodborne Pathogens standard several months later, requires employers to identify, evaluate, and implement safer medical...
First and foremost, it goes without saying that we all want to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right patient the first time, and every time thereafter, without making a mistake or causing harm, ever. And in a perfect world, that's what would always happen-we would take good care...
There are certain requirements and regulatory factors that pose perpetual challenges for hospitals, familiar burdens that elicit nods of understanding and sympathy when organizations discuss the barriers to successfully keeping themselves in compliance. The recently relaxed "30-...
Event reporting varies widely from facility to facility, and the kind of medical record system a facility uses (paper or electronic) can have a dramatic effect on its data collection and what can be done with that work. So when Jennifer Trallo, RN, MSN, MBA, director of quality...
Medicare recently amplified its effort to improve healthcare quality and reduce costs by naming 89 new accountable care organizations (ACO). The ACO experiment-built upon increased care coordination, outcome-based incentives, and movement away from fee-for-service reimbursement-began...
In 2009, The Joint Commission added Leadership standard LD.03.01.01, "Leaders create and maintain a culture of safety and quality throughout the hospital," to recognize that behavior that intimidates others and affects staff morale and turnover can also be damaging to patient care, and to...
Ever since it was first introduced to The Joint Commission's Medical Staff standards in 2007, the concept of focused professional practice evaluation (FPPE) has been something of a bugbear for hospitals. In theory, this sort of quality analysis and review makes perfect sense,...
