Medical Mayhem Room: Enhancing Situational Awareness of Patient Safety Risks in the Hospital Setting
To increase situational awareness of safety hazards in the hospital setting, quality improvement staff at Strong Memorial Hospital, the flagship hospital of a large academic medical center, implemented an experiential learning activity, the Medical Mayhem Room, during National Patient Safety Week in March 2019. This workplace-based activity was designed as a voluntary educational opportunity for nurses, resident and attending physicians, pharmacists, and other clinical support staff.
DNV GL: CMS Allows Some Remote Reaccreditation Surveys
DNV is also required to do another full reaccreditation survey onsite within nine months of the end of the PHE, said the announcement. Expect The Joint Commission and HFAP to follow suit as they work out details with CMS. However, the CEO for the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality said his AO was unlikely to change its current survey process.
AAAHC Issues COVID-19 Risk Prevention Guidelines
Following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) has released recommendations to help organizations safely navigate the evolving stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, with an emphasis on steps to identify, isolate, and inform.
How Patient Matching Can Help Eliminate COVID-19 Disparities in Care
During the first months of the pandemic, these breakdowns in data capture prevented officials from directing lifesaving resources to populations most at need during a public health crisis, such as people who lack stable housing, certain racial and ethnic groups, and those who live in high-risk ZIP codes.
Patient Apps Help Families Communicate With Caregivers
The pandemic has made communication between care teams and families particularly challenging, leading hospitals to seek new ways to reach out to loved ones who often can’t be by a patient’s side—or even in the waiting room—during a surgery. Having a means to communicate securely beyond the hospital walls, whether the receiving family member is waiting in their car outside the facility or at home across the country, is essential for reducing anxiety, increasing understanding, and creating a better healthcare experience.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 18 – Using Lean Management to Improve IV Therapy
On episode 18 of PSQH: The Podcast, host Jay Kumar talks to Lee Steere of Hartford Hospital about how the hospital transformed its infusion therapy practices.
ECRI Provides Lessons Learned on COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
The vaccines are extremely sensitive to temperature. In addition, they will come in multi-dose vials that must be diluted and then slowly mixed by inverting the bottle back and forth, according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Q&A: The Need for Better Training for IV Insertions
A collaboration announced in October 2020 between the Association for Vascular Access (AVA) and B. Braun Medical Inc. seeks to improve clinician training on the placement of PIVCs. Together, the organizations will develop and provide a series of online courses free of charge to schools of medicine, nursing, respiratory therapy, and other allied health professionals—the first of which is being currently piloted at several leading nursing schools.
Designing Successful Medication Reconciliation Programs
When deciding on where to place med rec resources, start by looking at where most of your admissions come from. For many hospitals, admissions largely come from planned surgical procedures or the Emergency Department, so these are prime areas in which to consider having a med rec team collect medication histories.
NIOSH Says FFRs with Exhalation Valves Just as Effective at Control of Disease Sources
NIOSH confirmed that approved FFRs like N95 respirators protect the wearer, filtering particle penetration to less than 5%. The report, “Filtering Facepiece Respirators with an Exhalation Valve: Measurements of Filtration Efficiency to Evaluate Their Potential for Source Control” (NIOSH Publication No. 2021-107), also confirmed that an FFR with an exhalation valve provided the same source control as commonly used measures like surgical masks, procedure masks, and cloth face coverings.