A Call for Standards, Auditing of Hospital Quality Data
Quality data looks good in ads and on hospital and health system websites. A little too good at times.
Evolving Roles in Hospital Leadership
A majority of healthcare organizations were seeking to expand their executive team with new members who could confront the evolving industry’s new challenges.
How to Prevent Maternal Mortality
This article appears in the September 2017 issue of Patient Safety Monitory Journal. More women are dying during pregnancy and childbirth than 15 years ago Maternal mortality is a measure of how many mothers die from pregnancy-related complications while carrying or within 42 days after birth. And in most of the developed world, this number … Continued
Staff Should Be Alert For Mislabeled Drugs
Remind nurses and other clinicians to remain alert for medication errors, including mislabeled products, and empower them to say something if they suspect a problem.
Bringing Innovation To Your Facility
In healthcare, some of the best innovations are deciding what not to do—especially when the current practice has no evidence basis.
The Case for Creating A Culture of Caregiver Support
Organizations are developing “second victim” programs to provide care for the caregivers—programs specifically focused on helping healthcare workers recover from trauma.
The Secret to Lowering C-Section Rates? Patience.
The perinatal director at SSM St. Mary’s Hospital shares how the organization achieves C-section rates well below the national average.
Mixing Medicine
The Joint Commission unveiled a Medication Compounding Certification (MCC) program that’s open to all compounding pharmacies, not just those accredited by The Joint Commission. The accreditor also called upon healthcare providers to work toward the elimination of medication compounding-related infections (MCRI) like the meningitis outbreak.
Solving the Physician Shortage with International Med Students
No matter how you slice the data, there’s a physician shortage coming—and some states are preparing to be harder hit than others.
The latest report from the Association of American Medical Colleges on the topic, released in April 2016, revealed that over the next decade the United States will face a labor shortage of between 61,700 and 94,700 physicians, with a significant shortage among many surgical specialties. By 2025, the study estimates a shortfall of between 14,900 and 35,600 primary care physicians. Non–primary care specialties are expected to experience a shortfall of between 37,400 and 60,300 physicians.
Be Prepared For Summer Patient Safety Hazards
Hospital EDs are extremely busy during the summer months because of accidents and injuries. While there’s no word yet on whether 2017 will break a heat record (though we hope not), you can expect it to bring a familiar brand of dangerous situations. But are you prepared for them?