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

Who Is the Patient Advocate?

A fast-growing solution is the rise of private patient advocates. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement defines a patient advocate as a “supporter, believer, sponsor, promoter, campaigner, backer, or spokesperson.” This can be a family member or close friend, but it’s increasingly an independent professional who specializes in helping patients and families make sense of their healthcare options.

Report Finds Radiologists to Blame for Missed Diagnoses

The Red Signal Radiology Report reviews five years of Coverys’ closed claims to identify major risk factors, illuminate warning signals and safety vulnerabilities within radiology practices, and provide evidence-based recommendations to help radiologists proactively avoid patient harm.

Could Legally Mandated Racial Bias Training Reduce Maternal Mortality Rates for Black Women?

A 2016 analysis of data published in Obstetrics & Gynecology showed a dramatic worsening in U.S. maternal mortality rates, increasing from 18.8 per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 23.8 in 2014. The researchers pointed out that this increase of nearly 27% took place in the United States while global rates fell by a third around that same time period. The data becomes even more pronounced when examining maternal mortality rates for black women.

A Novel Approach to Hospital Efficiency

While recognizing the value of many traditional utilization management processes, including labor productivity, staffing ratios, bed type assignments, throughput initiatives, and supply chain management, the team’s goal was to find new opportunities for improved resource management in bedside care delivery.

Call to Action: Long-Standing Strategies to Prevent Accidental Daily Methotrexate Dosing Must Be Implemented

Relatively few medications are dosed weekly; thus, accidental daily dosing of oral methotrexate has occurred all too frequently. This type of wrong-frequency error has originated in all stages of the medication use process, from prescribing to self-administration.

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Nurses’ Union Supports Legislation to Prevent Workplace Violence
by HealthLeaders Media, December 18, 2018

The bill would mandate that OSHA establish a national standard requiring healthcare and social service employers to create and implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan.
Final Hazardous Waste Pharmaceutical Rule Issued by EPA
by PSQH, December 14, 2018

Three years after it was proposed, the final rule, now entitled “Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the P0875 Listing for Nicotine” will likely be published in the Federal Register by the end of this month and go into effect six months after its publication in the Register.
SHEA Issues Infection Control Guidance for Anesthesiology
by PSQH, December 11, 2018

Published in SHEA’s journal Infection Control & Healthcare Epidemiology, the guidance provides steps for improving infection prevention using increased hand hygiene, environmental disinfection, and continuous improvement plans.
IHI Releases Framework for Board Governance of Health System Quality
by PSQH, December 10, 2018

The framework and tool are designed to help the approximately 80,000 health system trustees in the U.S. navigate the complex world of overseeing quality.
Joint Commission Revises Suicide Prevention National Patient Safety Goal
by PSQH, December 6, 2018

The revised requirements are based on more than a year of research, public field review, and analysis with multiple panels convened by TJC and representing provider organizations, suicide prevention experts, behavioral facility design experts, and other key stakeholders.

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Who Is the Patient Advocate?

Report Finds Radiologists to Blame for Missed Diagnoses

Could Legally Mandated Racial Bias Training Reduce Maternal Mortality Rates for Black Women?

A Novel Approach to Hospital Efficiency

Call to Action: Long-Standing Strategies to Prevent Accidental Daily Methotrexate Dosing Must Be Implemented

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