In an interesting turn, the FDA has released recommendations for improving cybersecurity for medical devices and hospital networks. In this month's column, we will review those recommendations and also hear from the field, which has been working hard long before the FDA's announcement to stay...
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...
The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goal 07.05.01 on surgical site infections has been modified, and surveyors have currently stopped citing organizations that are out of compliance with element of performance (EP) 5 of the standard.
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 24, Issue 8
Patient falls are often associated with elderly patients, but as one hospital experienced firsthand, postpartum women recovering in the obstetrics room can also be at risk.
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...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 24, Issue 8
On April 5, 2013, CMS released a proposed rule to the Survey, Certification and Enforcement Procedures, at 42 CFR §488 and 42 CFR §489. The proposed rule significantly strengthens the oversight by CMS over the national accreditation organizations (AO).
Imagine a patient is admitted to your hospital from a trauma unit. A history is taken, multiple staff members evaluate her, and she is brought up to the inpatient unit. There, staff are hands on, helping her to walk to the bathroom and focusing on getting her better. She...
The Joint Commission announced in June a new National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) aimed at improving the safety of clinical alarm systems. The goal is currently planned for implementation on January 1, 2014, and has been designated as NPSG.06.01.01.
