When a new patient enters a hospital, staff membersgenerally follow the same routine. The admitting nurse asks the patient’s name, date of birth, symptoms, and any allergies to any medications. From this information, a medical record is created and the patient may be admitted and is taken to a...
When a patient visits his or her doctor, a certain level of trust is inherent in the interaction. Just as a consumer might expect an auto mechanic to diagnose the cause of an engine that stalls, or a stockbroker to surmise why certain stocks have been outperforming others, a patient trusts his...
On September 23, 2009, Cindy McKeon, BS, BSMT, MS, MBA, ASEP, lab director of Bothwell Regional Health Center, in Sedalia, MO, received the greatest birthday news one could hope for while being surveyed by the Joint Commission: You are accredited for two more years.
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 1
Collective experience from The Greeley Company’s consultants supports the Joint Commission’s November Perspectives, identifying medication storage as a problem. The CMS and The Joint Commission have relaxed medication storage requirements over the past few years but medication storage issues...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 1
As a healthcare accreditation consultant and quality management professional, I have been exposed to a variety of improvement models within healthcare organizations: Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA), Total Quality Management (TQM), Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI), Quality Control (QC), and Rapid...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 1
Let’s throw a pair of numbers out there: 26% and 3%. Those are the percentages for emergency department (ED) diversion rates Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, Burbank, CA, saw prior to and after targeting the topic for improvement with Six Sigma.
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 1
Every month, Briefings on The Joint Commission brings you the latest news in Joint Commission survey preparation, standards interpretation, and best practices, as well as CMS and other hospital accreditation-related topics. This month, we look at Lean Six Sigma’s growing role in hospital...
