Hospital leaders only need to glance at the headlines from the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration’s Diversion Control Division to see the pervasiveness of drug diversion in hospitals.
There is not one hospital in the United States that is immune from disasters, whether caused by internal system failures or events externally directed at them and the communities they serve. Yet many of the nation’s healthcare organizations make preparedness a low priority and fail to build the...
In 2022, the Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario embarked on a journey to prune away the rules that hindered care and comfort in their Department of Emergency Medicine. The project was lead by Louise Rang, MD, FRCPC, RDMS, who attributed their success to a fantastic team and a budget line...
Well, not strictly speaking—I’m pretty sure we’ve been working on preparedness in the ambulatory care settings for a while now. I suspect that this is more of a recalibration to ensure that all applicable elements of the CMS Emergency Preparedness Final Rule are clearly accounted for in all the...
Make strategic use of alternate equipment management (AEM) plans to streamline your facility’s workload and eliminate unnecessary testing, suggests Richard L. Parker, CHFM, CLSS-HC, FACHE, FASHE, associate director of life safety and physical environment for the Accreditation Commission for...
Last week we asked about your perfect dream laboratory—but there is a reason we called it a dream. Most healthcare organizations can’t afford to build new laboratories from the ground up and instead have to work within their existing spaces the best they can. Space itself can be a major...
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) are being reminded of the importance of having complete documentation in patients’ medical records.
Cybersecurity never sleeps. A recent major report on the topic, published in November, comes from the U.S. government’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). This report is particularly significant due to the high value of protected health information (PHI), the critical...
Imagine if you could have your perfect laboratory. Leadership gave you the green light and the funds for you to design, build, and equip a new lab however you like. What annoyances would you remove? Would you prioritize staff comfort, security, or biosafety? What color would the walls be? Few...
Review security measures designed to stop drug diversion, and educate staff and providers about how to dispose properly of unused controlled substances.