The whole purpose of the building tour is to determine if your facility is in compliance with the Life Safety Code® (LSC). The surveyor will most likely start at the top of your building inspecting mechanical rooms and the roof.
In the world of hospital laboratories, where precision and accuracy are non-negotiable, the culture of safety forms the bedrock of daily operations. It is within this critical context that Daniel J. Scungio, MT (ASCP), SLS, CQA (ASQ), who has over 30 years of experience as a...
In its Respiratory Disease Season Outlook, the CDC expects the 2023-2024 season will look similar to last year. Last year’s hospitalizations were higher than experienced before the COVID-19 pandemic, in which severe disease was caused primarily by the influenza virus and the respiratory...
Determining how your facility addresses requests for information about how it complies with CMS’ Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) Conditions of Participation (CoP) while protecting sensitive patient safety details is a task for leadership and the hospital attorney...
This is Part 2 of our coverage of revisions to U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) <797> requirements for compounding sterile medication, which were discussed by Robert Campbell, PharmD, BCSCP, The Joint Commission’s (TJC) director of Medication Management, during the accreditor’s...
In general, I think it can be rather instructive when (and to what degree) our friends in Chicago modify an existing Sentinel Event Alert, particularly one that relates to the management of risks in the physical environment. And this latest update, as represented by...
Safety problems identified within the physical environment account for 60%–70% of deficiencies scored by The Joint Commission (TJC) during surveys, according to TJC statistics. However, in the first six months of this year, almost 90% of those Environment of Care (EC) and Life Safety (LS)...
A recent study published in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety has found some good news—the number of reported unintended retained surgical items (URSI) has continued to decline since 2019. While this is a positive trend, it’s not the same as saying the risk is gone. The...
Anatomic pathology laboratories present safety concerns that can differ from those in the clinical lab. Formaldehyde and other hazardous chemicals are used to preserve tissue specimens; workers can be exposed to large amounts of blood and body fluid during autopsies; and the sharp blades in...
Pretty much since 2017, I have been wishing, hoping, etc. for the ligature resistance pendulum to find itself in something close to a middle ground. The pendulum will always sway a bit, but I’m thinking that the swings will be somewhat less acute than when we started this journey and move from...