In a January report, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) found that patients who fall out of bed often do not receive adequate care, including delay in diagnosis, failure to record neurological observations, and delay in-urgent surgery.
When you read the words “patient safety” or “quality,” what images immediately come to mind? It might be nurses washing their hands, fall risk signs, doctors with checklists, bar codes, surgical timeout posters, sterile gloves, or maybe a patient’s color-coded alert wristband.
The Joint Commission recently announced approved revisions of the National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) on medication reconciliation. The goal, now NPSG.03.06.01 (formerly NPSG.08.01.01), is shorter and has fewer requirements. It takes effect July 1, 2011.
Quality improvement (QI) and patient safety projects are tough to implement. Most employees resist change and must be constantly encouraged to give new methods a chance. Nurses often begrudge any new documentation or process, fearing it will cut into...
When I was first accepted into my graduate program for healthcare administration, I remember scanning the coursework that I was about to undertake for the next two years. While investigating all the classes, I mentally...
Healthcare providers face a number of difficult challenges in the year ahead, only one of which is to improve patient care while reducing costs. The way to success, according to Maureen Bisognano, president and CEO of the IHI, is to think differently about patient care...
