STEMI Initiative Cuts Response Time by 72%
A quality program at UNC Hospitals empowers non-physician clinicians to activate response teams for cardiology inpatients using triage protocols used by first responders.
UN Declares Drug Resistance a Global Threat
The fight against antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) infections has become a hot topic in 2016, and the United Nations (UN) has now joined the fray. This year, The Joint Commission and CMS making antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) mandatory for all healthcare facilities. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, 74 drug makers, 11 diagnostic test manufacturers, and … Continued
How MRSA Rates Sunk 42% at SC Health System
After a South Carolina health system introduced an electronic system for monitoring handwashing compliance among clinical staff, it saw MRSA rates plummet.
New Research Refines Approach to Hand Hygiene
A new CDC campaign, the ‘yuck factor,’ and new research on automated surveillance. Patient safety and infection control experts commonly refer to hand hygiene as the simplest, most effective way to prevent disease transmission. The only problem is healthcare providers still aren’t very good at it. According to the CDC, healthcare professionals wash their hands … Continued
Hospital Readmissions are Not the Enemy
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services has all but declared war on readmissions. But one researcher suggests that the relationship between readmission rates and quality is flawed.
Vendor Error Leads to Breach
Medicare Compliance Watch CHI Franciscan Health Highline Medical Center (Highline) in Burien, Washington, is notifying more than 18,000 patients of a data breach affecting protected health information (PHI) stored with a vendor, Highline said in a statement. On July 22, R-C Healthcare Management, a vendor that performed services for Highline prior to 2014, informed the … Continued
Noted Patient Advocate Joins National Patient Safety Foundation Think Tank
The National Patient Safety Foundation’s Lucian Leape Institute welcomed Sue Sheridan, MBA, MIM, DHL, as a member at the beginning of September. Ms. Sheridan, director of patient engagement for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), is widely known in the patient safety field as an advocate and leading voice for patient engagement in health … Continued
Drug Diversion is Difficult to Identify, Impact on Patient Safety is Devastating
In October 2015, McKay-Dee Hospital in Utah revealed that as many as 4,800 people had been potentially exposed to hepatitis C (HCV) after a state investigation linked the same hepatitis genotype from a patient treated at the hospital to a nurse who was caught diverting drugs in 2014.
CMS Finalizes New Emergency Preparedness Rule
CMS announced last week that it had finalized new emergency response requirements for healthcare providers participating in the Medicare or Medicaid system. The new rule comes as a response to a string of disasters, natural and mad-made, including the recent flooding in Louisiana.
Surgeons Take Sides on Transplant Proposal
Proponents claim a new donor liver allocation plan would be more equitable for patients; foes say it could raise costs and close programs.