Hospital EDs Are Taking a Proactive Approach to Violence

At Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, Massachusetts, administrators are tapping into the electronic health record platform to identify ED patients with a history of threatening behavior, which pushes out alerts to the care team. Those alerts not only give providers advance warning, but can help them call in behavioral healthcare specialists to help those patients.

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OSHA Proceeding With Healthcare Rulemakings

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will proceed with three rulemakings focused on the healthcare industry—standards for COVID-19, infectious diseases, and workplace violence—the Department of Labor (DOL) announced as part of the fall 2022 unified regulatory agenda unveiled January 4.

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CMS Urges Hospitals to Take Violence Prevention Steps

To provide care in a safe setting for both patients and healthcare workers, hospitals need to identify patients at risk for intentional harm to themselves or others, CMS recommended in its November 28 memo, as well as identify environmental safety risks for such patients and provide education and training for staff and volunteers. CMS said it expects hospitals to demonstrate how they identify patients at risk of self-harm or harm to others and what steps they are taking to minimize those risks.

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Presbyterian Healthcare Services CMO Talks Strategy, Patient Safety, and Workforce

Mitchell leads more than 1,100 physicians and advanced practice clinicians. He also provides clinical oversight for the Albuquerque, New Mexico­—based health system’s medical staff operations at nine hospitals. HealthLeaders recently talked with him about a range of topics, including clinical leadership at PHS, healthcare worker burnout, patient safety at PHS, and workforce shortages.

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Healthcare Leaders Share Thoughts on How Hospitals Can Invest in Workplace Safety

Incidents of workplace violence cost hospitals approximately $2.7 billion in 2016, according to a study from the American Hospital Association. Additionally, 13% of employee sick time is the result of workplace violence, according to the American Nurses Association. Workplace violence-related absenteeism can cost hospitals $53.7 million a year, according to the AHA report.

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Mass General Brigham Issues Patient Code of Conduct

Under a newly imposed Patient Code of Conduct, patients and visitors who disrupt care, make verbal or physical threats — including racist, sexist, discriminatory or disrespectful comments about clinicians, other hospital staff, other patients and visitors — could face a verbal reprimand, and even expulsion from the Boston hospital and possible suspension of future care access.

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