PSMF Renews Efforts to Improve Patient Safety in Hospitals
Patient Safety Movement was founded in 2012 with the goal of eliminating preventable patient deaths by 2020. While it fell short of that goal, the group says its hospital and health system partners saved 366,353 lives during 2012-2020 by improving processes. Still, there is much more to be done.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 17 – Supporting Remote Patients During a Pandemic
On episode 17 of PSQH: The Podcast, host Jay Kumar talks to Dr. Stephanie Lahr, CIO and CMIO at Monument Health in South Dakota, about providing care for remote patients in a pandemic.
As Hospitals Fill With COVID Patients, Medical Reinforcements Are Hard to Find
Beds and space aren’t the main concern. It’s the workforce. Hospitals are worried staffing levels won’t be able to keep up with demand as doctors, nurses and specialists such as respiratory therapists become exhausted or, worse, infected and sick themselves.
COVID-19 and Physician Burnout: How Health Systems Can Help Reverse It
This past September, the Physicians Foundation released the results of a survey of more than 2,300 physicians conducted in mid- to late August, more than five months after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. Nearly 60% of physicians surveyed reported feelings of burnout, compared to 40% in 2018. Half of the physicians surveyed reported experiencing anger, tearfulness, or anxiety due to the pandemic’s effect on their practice or employment.
Report: After 20 Years, Why Isn’t Patient Safety Better?
The report examined 20,211 closed medical malpractice claims from 2010 to 2019 to provide risk managers, clinicians, and healthcare executives a unique view into factors that lead to claims. It is intended as a tool to proactively reduce conditions that result in patient harm and financial risk.
Share Your Innovative Quality Improvement Ideas
Any professional who is currently involved in patient safety or quality improvement is welcome to submit a case study application. The 2021 PSQH Contest Committee, in conjunction with the PSQH administrative team, will select one case study to highlight on PSQH.
CMS Launches New Hospital-at-Home Program
As part of the Acute Hospital Care At Home program, CMS has established an online portal to expedite waivers of the Hospital Conditions of Participation statute. The statute includes several requirements for inpatient-level care, including the 24/7 availability of nursing services on the premises of a hospital-level care setting.
OSHA Let Employers Decide Whether to Report Healthcare Worker Deaths. Many Didn’t.
Workplace safety regulators have taken a lenient stance toward employers during the pandemic, giving them broad discretion to decide internally whether to report worker deaths. As a result, scores of deaths were not reported to occupational safety officials from the earliest days of the pandemic through late October.
CMS ‘Flexibilities’ Aim to Expand Hospital Capacity
Six health systems have been approved for the new waivers and include Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Huntsman Cancer Institute; Massachusetts General Hospital; Mount Sinai Health System; Presbyterian Healthcare Services; and UnityPoint Health. CMS expects new applications to be submitted.
HHS is Looking for Your Pandemic Success Stories
CMS and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published a request for information on “Effective and Innovative Approaches/Best Practices in Health Care in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.”