Viewpoint
Viewpoint
For the Sake of Patient Safety, Medical Interpreters Must Be Trained and Tested
Given the amount of education and training that physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals are required to undertake, many Americans would be shocked to find that there is one critical medical job that is completely devoid of any kind of federal oversight, regulation or, until recently, recognized national standards.
Health IT & Quality
Health IT & Quality
A True Tipping Point?
From the signing of healthcare reform legislation to the release of final rules for “meaningful use,” events in 2010 are driving toward a true transformation in the delivery of healthcare in the United States.
Building a PSO “Field of Dreams” for Emergency Medical Services
Building a PSO “Field of Dreams” for Emergency Medical Services
For emergency medical service (EMS) providers in the state of Missouri, patient safety organizations are a “field of dreams” — a field of legal protection, learning, collaborating, and most of all, improving pre-hospital care.
AHRQ
AHRQ
Patient Safety and Medical Liability Reform: Putting the Patient First
Recent research shows a significant correlation between the frequency of adverse events and malpractice claims (Greenberg, et al, 2010). Meanwhile, information from patient satisfaction surveys and patient experiences of care have been shown to predict malpractice risk (Fullam, et al, 2009).
Editor’s Notebook
Editor’s Notebook
The Patient Safety Kaleidoscope
I’m increasingly aware that some communities are underrepresented in the patient safety movement. I’ve come to that awareness through various organizations, events, and articles.
Patient Safety Top of Mind for Medical Center and Design Team
Patient Safety Top of Mind for Medical Center and Design Team
Health providers, architects, and planners collaborated to put patient safety at the heart of the relocation and expansion of a leading Northern California trauma center/emergency department.
Q&A: Quality, Safety, and Medical Tourism
Q&A
Quality, Safety, and Medical Tourism
After a long career as a clinician and medical informatics leader at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Syed Tirmizi, MD, grabbed his passport and joined Quantros as vice president of international business development.
Look-Alike Drug Name Errors
Look-Alike Drug Name Errors
Is Enhanced Lettering the Answer?
Medication errors can result in significant morbidity and mortality and more costly care. Look-alike drug names that contribute to wrong drug errors are pervasive.
Improving IV Catheter Care
Improving IV Catheter Care to Safeguard against Deadly Infections
As recently reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; 2010), the incidence of bloodstream infections associated with central venous catheters (central lines) has dropped 18%.
Health IT & Quality
Health IT & Quality
Is “Meaningful Use” Meaningful?
Now that the “meaningful use” rule has been finalized by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC), many organizations turn their focus to a rapid deployment of electronic medical record (EMR) systems in an effort to achieve transformation of the United States healthcare system.