According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 99,000 people die every year from infections acquired while in hospitals.

As advocates for patient safety in the operating room, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, (AORN), announced support for Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell’s signing of HB 1641 requiring the presence of a circulating nurse in certain operating rooms.

A new Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alert warns that health care facilities today are being confronted with steadily increasing rates of crime, including assault, rape, and murder.

Hospira, a leading provider of clinical information and medication delivery technologies, introduced the new Anticoagulation Assistant knowledge module as part of its TheraDoc™ clinical surveillance platform.

To improve the quality and safety of healthcare in the United States,
the National Quality Forum (NQF) is releasing its updated manual Safe
Practices for Better Healthcare.

The Joint Commission announced the approval of revisions to Medical
Staff Standard MS.01.01.01, formerly known as MS.1.20, that is designed
to contribute to patient safety and quality of care through the support
of a well-functioning, positive relationship between a hospital’s
Medical Staff and Governing Body.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced an initiative to reduce
unnecessary radiation exposure from three types of medical imaging
procedures: computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine studies, and
fluoroscopy.

Pre-existing medical conditions such as high blood pressure are putting
women at greater risk for death during or shortly after pregnancy,
according to a Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alert recently issued.

Cerner has created the CareAware® device connectivity
architecture to connect medical devices to the EHR, enabling
bi-directional data sharing between medical devices and the patient
record.