Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare - News and analysis dedicated to healthcare improvement

Improving Antibiotic Stewardship at Urgent Care Centers

As care continues its move deeper into communities and away from traditional medical campuses, urgent care centers are exploding in growth. In 2018, there were 8,100 urgent care centers, up nearly 27% from 2014, according to Consumer Reports. Those centers see an estimated 160 million patient visits each year, according to the Urgent Care Association.

A Prescription for Social Determinants of Health

A September 2019 study published in JAMA found that only 24% of hospitals and 16% of physician practices reported screening for five key social factors that affect health outcomes. Those factors, as defined by CMS’ Accountable Health Communities model, are food insecurity, housing instability, utility needs, transportation needs, and interpersonal violence.

When in Crisis Mode, Let Everyone Follow the Data

During normal times, managers often make decisions based on their knowledge and experience; analysis of data to varying degrees informs that decision-making process. Circumstances change at an easily manageable pace, errors in judgment can be corrected, and the impact of those poor choices is often insignificant.

Healthcare Extends Into the Online Community

As consumers take more control over where they seek healthcare, they’re using their social networks to spread the news about their preferred choices. The result is that physicians are now being tasked with protecting their reputations in the digital world.

Rapidly Accelerating Use of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Demands Ethical Analysis

The proliferation of AI and robotics use is inescapable, so how can the associated ethical challenges be identified and addressed? It was only last year that the FDA released model 1.0 of its software precertification to provide an initial tool to test AI and machine learning technology.

Over-the-Top Risky: Overuse of ADC Overrides, Removal of Drugs Without an Order, and Use of Non-Profiled Cabinets

Whether used as a full decentralized drug distribution model or for limited distribution of controlled substances, PRN (as needed) medications, and first doses only, ADCs today are often interfaced with electronic health record systems in both large and small healthcare settings.

Study: Using Bed Barriers Cuts Down on C. diff

The study, conducted by researchers at Xavier University in Cincinnati and Bon Secours Mercy Health Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital in Kentucky, achieved an almost 60% decrease in infections, which is double the nationwide reduction goal established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

How Data Analytics Will Improve Patient Care

Big data analytics strategies are maturing quickly in healthcare, outpacing numerous other industries. The reasons for this are the numerous visible and immediate benefits these technologies bring about, measurable benefits that can appear within weeks of adoption.

Contact-Free Continuous Monitoring How Arnot Ogden Medical Center Protects Patients From Clinical Deterioration

At Arnot Ogden Medical Center, a not-for-profit, 256-bed tertiary medical facility in Elmira, New York, we’ve long used traditional telemetry devices and methods in our four cardiology units to monitor patients’ vital signs. But we also wanted to give this added layer of protection to other hospital patients without incurring the costs of installing telemetry systems.

News

Coronavirus: How Dartmouth-Hitchcock Is Reopening Paused Services
by HealthLeaders Media, June 3, 2020

As the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic spread across the country in March, many health systems and hospitals suspended some outpatient services and most elective surgeries. Now, most of these organizations are seeking to reactivate paused services without endangering patients and staff. Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s strategy could serve as a blueprint for other health systems that were not innundated with COVID-19 patients.
Cal/OSHA Issues Guidance for Hospitals on Aerosol Transmissible Disease Standard
by EHS Daily Advisor, June 2, 2020

California’s Aerosol Transmissible Disease standard requires that employers protect workers at healthcare facilities and other services and operations from airborne diseases like COVID-19 and tuberculosis, influenza, and pertussis (whooping cough). There is no corresponding federal standard.
EHRs Fail to Detect Up to One-third of Medication Errors
by HealthLeaders Media, June 2, 2020

Researchers at the University of Utah Health, Harvard University, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found that the most commonly used EHRs in hospitals across the nation fail to detect up to 33% of potentially dangerous drug interactions and other medication errors that could harm or kill patients.
Physician Advocate: Coronavirus Pandemic Shows Need to Ease Regulatory Burdens
by HealthLeaders Media, June 1, 2020

The pandemic has compounded the stress and burnout physicians were already experiencing from regulatory burdens, he says. “Prior to the pandemic, onerous regulations made it difficult to enjoy practicing medicine and hindered the physician-patient relationship, which 78.7% of physicians regard as the most satisfying part of their job, according to our 2018 Survey of America’s Physicians.”
Bullying is Rife Among Surgical Residents, Especially for Women
by HealthLeaders Media, May 29, 2020

Researchers from the American College of Surgeons and Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center at Northwestern University, both in Chicago, surveyed U.S. 6,956 general surgery residents and found that 67% of respondents have experienced at least one bullying behavior during their time as a resident.