Central line infections still plague hospitals. Reducing them is a Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG.07.04.01) and they represent a CMS "never event" that is reported publicly on its Hospital Compare website. Unfortunately, central lines are necessary,...
The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) has awarded a $100,000 grant for a patient safety research project that will examine the mechanisms underlying patient falls in hospitals. The group of researchers and architects will then offer recommendations for improved facility...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 24, Issue 11
On August 27, CMS released significant changes impacting several areas of the Conditions of Participation (CoP). Interestingly, the information included in Transmittal 88 on August 27 rescinded and replaced a relatively recent update, Transmittal 86, on July 19.
To help you track these...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 24, Issue 11
Think back to your last visit to a hospital as a patient or family member. Every patient care area has recognizable, ubiquitous items, such as automated blood pressure pumps, compression pumps, and IV pumps. But how do you know if those items were cleaned and/or disinfected? Were they used with...
Most clinicians have probably done it. They might do it out in the open or sneak it in when supervisors aren't watching. Some might do it several times a day, while others might not even realize they're doing it. What are all these people doing? Workarounds.
Research findings call on hospital leaders to take a deeper look at how staff—primarily nurses—interact with patients, to determine a way for patients at highest risk for infection to come into contact with fewer workers.
The most recent round of administrative penalties for hospital deficiencies constituting immediate jeopardy includes two patient falls resulting in deaths, a wrong-site surgery, and a retained surgical object. Click the link above to read more.
The latest round of scores that measure rates of errors and infections, indicators of safe practices, shows an increase in the number of hospitals that earned the lowest score. Leapfrog's CEO Leah Binder calls that "a troubling trend."
As I wander around the countryside visiting hospitals of all shapes and sizes, there are a few common challenges that seem to give just about everyone fits. And probably among the most common of commonalities is the challenge of managing patient lifting and all the inherent risks of that...