News – IOM Recommends Long-Term Restructuring of GME Financing and Governance
An Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee has studied the system for governance and public funding of graduate medical education (GME) and finds that it suffers from a “striking absence of transparency and accountability” (IOM, 2014, p. S-13) and provides a physician workforce that is out of sync with the nation’s current needs.
Special Advertising Section – Infection Control
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is an illness first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. It is caused by a coronavirus, MERS-CoV. Most people who have been confirmed to have MERS-CoV infection developed severe acute respiratory illness.
Sound the Alarm
How much noise is heard over the course of the day in the average hospital unit? One study found alarm rates up to 700 per bed per day (ECRI Institute, 2013a; Graham & Cvach, 2010). When alarms sound so frequently, they simply cannot be managed adequately. Ineffective alarms lead to alarm fatigue among staff members…
Patient- and Family-Centered Care
This second article in a four-part series on patient- and family-centered-care (PFCC) focuses on family presence during resuscitations and invasive procedures. Continuing the story from the first article in the series (Homme et al., 2014), Max’s mother relates her experience as she prepared to be separated from her son…
From Smart Pumps to Intelligent Infusion Systems – The Promise of Interoperability
A little more than a decade ago the introduction of “smart” pumps with dose error-reduction systems (DERS) dramatically improved the safety of intravenous (IV) infusion therapy. Wireless connectivity enhanced system management and laid the foundation for integrating smart pumps with other systems and devices.
Team Training – TeamSTEPPS® 2.0 Improves an Already Proven Program
Recently, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announced the release of an updated version of the successful teamwork and communication curricula TeamSTEPPS 2.0—Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety.
Health IT & Quality – Bacchus and Healthcare
Showing great wisdom, our mothers cautioned us to never judge a book by its cover. Yet, when we purchase wine, we often look for the fancy label design, interesting back label story, or colorful capsule covering the cork.
ISMP – A Mislabeling Event: The Unintended Consequences of Practice Changes
Any time a change is made in the structure or processes associated with a given task, the risk of an unanticipated error is introduced, even if the changes are intended to reduce the risk of errors or improve the quality of outcomes.
Health Data – Patient Reported Outcome Measures: Europe Shows Us the Way
Today the U.S. healthcare system is undergoing systemic transformation, as the focus shifts toward more value-based reimbursement for providers and a focus on increased quality of care along with expansion of access to health coverage.
News – Data Integrity Tops List of Patient Safety Concerns
ECRI Institute has added a new “top 10” list to its other offerings and to the popular trend of enumerating the pressing issues that healthcare organizations face today. ECRI describes the list of patient safety concerns…