Patient Safety Predictions for 2023
PSQH reached out to professionals throughout healthcare to get their predictions for what will happen in patient safety and healthcare quality in 2023. Here’s what they had to say.
Flu Patients at Risk of Developing Sepsis
Sepsis is the body’s extreme reaction to an infection, and it can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death, according to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention. CDC annual statistics on sepsis are eye-popping: about 1.7 million American adults develop sepsis, at least 350,000 American adults with sepsis die during their hospitalization or are discharged to hospice, and 1 of 3 people who die in a hospital had sepsis during their hospitalization.
HHS Again Tackles a Proposed New Rule Against ‘Conscience and Religious Discrimination’
The proposal, which would be entitled “Safeguarding the Rights of Conscience as Protected by Federal Statutes,” is designed to “to restore the longstanding process for the handling of conscience complaints and provide additional safeguards to protect against conscience and religious discrimination,” according to an HHS statement from Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Joint Commission Eliminates Use of ‘Licensed Independent Practitioner’
The Joint Commission (TJC) will no longer use the term “licensed independent practitioner” in its hospital and critical access hospital standards. Starting February 19, 2023, the term “licensed practitioner” will be used.
Pain Relief vs. Addiction and Overdose: Four Steps to Maintain an Appropriate Equilibrium
Opioids have become a substance of concern due to their propensity to spark misuse and addiction. Tragically, the CDC estimates that there have been about 1 million drug overdose deaths since 1999, of which 82.3% involved a synthetic opioid.
A Virtual Second Opinion Can Save Your Life
Your loved one is likely already receiving high-quality medical care for their condition. However, there may be times when you or your loved one desires a second opinion, like Dan. Perhaps your loved one has a condition that, despite treatment, isn’t improving or is getting worse; perhaps they have been diagnosed with a serious or rare health condition or have been told their condition is not treatable; perhaps they are facing treatment that involves significant risks, such as surgery or chemotherapy.
Improving Access to Ultrasound at the Point of Care
With more user-friendly technology that leverages artificial intelligence (AI), caregivers across departments—from emergency care to cardiology to primary care—could use ultrasound to quickly diagnose and treat patients suffering from a plethora of conditions. In fact, they’d be able to use it wherever the point of care happens to be, whether that’s in a hospital, in a clinic, or at a patient’s home.
Monitoring TAVR Patients for Improved Outcomes
For patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis, a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure is often performed as a minimally invasive alternative to open-heart surgery. This helps shorten a patient’s hospital stay and increases their chances of being discharged home. As TAVR procedures become more common, hospitals are now leveraging cardiac monitoring devices to monitor for significant arrhythmias post-discharge.
Are Patients Getting the Best Possible Care Through Telemedicine?
Telemedicine can increase provider productivity by enabling healthcare professionals to see more patients in a day. In addition, it can enhance the work experience for providers, affording them greater control over their schedule and allowing them to see patients whom they otherwise would not be able to see.
Six Low-Cost ‘Action Items’ to Recruit and Retain Nurses
While nearly half (46%) of the 86 respondents to the management consultant’s 2022 State of Healthcare Improvement Report say that reducing labor costs provides the greatest opportunity for cost reductions, virtually all of the respondents (98%) say they’re bumping up starting wages, 84% are offering signing bonuses, 73% are offering retention bonuses, and 47% are paying for more overtime hours.