By Susan Carr

The “Lean” approach to process improvement—derived from the Toyota Production System (TPS) developed by Taiichi Ohno and others in the 1950s, 60s and 70s—continues to establish a record of success with healthcare organizations.

In the 10 years since the passage of the federal Needlestick Safety and Protection Act, much progress has been made to reduce the risk of healthcare worker exposure to bloodborne pathogens—yet significant challenges remain. Earlier in March, The International Healthcare Worker Safety Center at the University of Virginia and the American Nurses Association (ANA), along with colleagues across the spectrum of healthcare, agreed on a Consensus Statement and Call to Action to address these issues.

The latest release of an ongoing survey of more than 7,000 emergency room nurses nationwide finds that rates of physical violence and verbal abuse against nurses did not decrease between May 2009 to January 2011.

Sept. 12, 2001—Healthcare spending is 10 percent higher for hospital employees than it is for the general employee population, according to a study released today by the healthcare business of Thomson Reuters.

CRICO/RMF Strategies, leading an innovative national effort to use malpractice data to help healthcare organizations reduce medical errors and enhance patient safety, announced the release of its latest film, entitled “Healing the Healer.”