Effective immediately, CMS says texting of patient information and of patient orders is permissible—with some caveats. In a memo to CMS state survey agency directors on February 8, CMS noted that due to technological advances in encryption and more secure interfaces between information...
Eyewash stations pose some of the most frequent problems during survey. But they don’t have to, says Richard L. Parker, CHFM, CLSS-HC, FACHE, FASHE, associate director of life safety and physical environment for the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC). Ask yourself one key question:...
It is standard operating procedure (SOP) to have multiple SOPs in your laboratory or facility. SOPs cover everything from donning and doffing PPE to hand hygiene, the use of equipment, and the handling of hazardous or biohazardous materials. However, it’s important to remember that just because...
Recently, the good folks at ECRI revealed their report on the Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for 2024. I don’t know that anyone would be surprised at what made the list, though I am surprised that one consideration did not show up (more on that in a moment).
You don’t give the same dose of medication to every patient, and the same is true with training healthcare staff, says Robert Lloyd, PhD, a vice president of improvement science and senior improvement advisor at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). This is the idea behind the dosing...
The Accreditation Commission for Health Care’s (ACHC) recent Quality Review Edition of its publication TheSurveyor for acute care hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAH) examined the most...
Hospitals seeking to develop a workplace violence prevention program must do so with a multidisciplinary team in order for the program to be comprehensive and effective. This team should be led by the designated leader and encompass members from various key departments in the hospital, including...
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) encounter distinct OSHA compliance challenges compared to other healthcare facilities, says Troy Lair, PhD, principal consultant of Elite Accreditation Consultants. Limited resources, dynamic environments, and the use of specialized equipment demand tailored...
Thea Rosenbaum, MD, MBA, is the chief clinical transformation officer at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and has experience in breaking the rules—in a good way. As a member of the Breaking the Rules (BTR) coalition, UAMS asked their healthcare staff in 2015, 2018, and 2022...
