The Joint Commission Presents 2014 Enterprise Champion for Quality Award
For the second consecutive year, The Joint Commission has presented BrightStar Care® with the Enterprise Champion for Quality award. The award recognizes BrightStar Care for its efforts to promote the delivery of high-quality home healthcare to its franchisees through Joint Commission accreditation.
Joint Commission Educates Hospital Leaders on Integrated Patient-centered Systems
The Joint Commission announces publication of the new “Patient Safety Systems” chapter in the 2015 Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals. The purpose of the chapter is to inform and educate hospital leaders about the importance and structure of an integrated patient-centered system that aims to improve quality of care and patient safety.
EMR Interoperability Delayed by Lack of Inter-Vendor Cooperation
Less than half of healthcare providers say their electronic medical records (EMR) vendor cooperates well with other vendors.
NPSF Patient Safety Congress Call for Abstracts Due Oct. 17
The 17th Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress takes place April 29 – May 1, in Austin, Texas.
IMPACT Legislation Improves PAC Quality
The National Quality Forum (NQF) commends the Congress for passing the “Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014,” or IMPACT Act.
AACR Issues Policy Statement Underscoring Importance of Safe, Accurate, Effective Diagnostic Tests
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) recently issued a policy statement that underscores the importance of safe, accurate, and effective diagnostic tests by recommending that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) begin to actively exert its authority to regulate high-risk laboratory developed tests (LDTs) that are being utilized by physicians to make treatment decisions, including the tailoring of an individual’s cancer treatment regimen.
Joint Commission Alerts Organizations to Tubing Misconnection Risks
The Joint Commission has issued a new Sentinel Event Alert that addresses the risks of accidental medical tubing misconnections that can cause severe patient injury or death.
What Does New CMS Guidance on Monitoring Post-operative Patients Receiving Opioids Mean for Hospital Practice?
New guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recommends monitoring of patients receiving opioids.
A Culture of Safety at the CDC
I had the radio on as I drove to the market, but I wasn’t really listening until I heard “It’s very important to have a culture of safety that says, if you’ve got a problem, talk about it.” I didn’t recall ever having heard the phrase “culture of safety” outside of safety improvement circles.
AAMI, ECRI Institute Report Guides Senior Executives on Meeting Key Healthcare Technology Safety Challenges
The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) and ECRI Institute have joined forces in a first-of-its kind effort to help medical device and healthcare delivery executives identify and monitor trends related to technology safety issues.