Interoperability Is Delayed Again, Keeping Clinicians in Limbo
Physicians have become all too familiar with the inefficiencies of EHRs; they hinder decision-making, decrease productivity, and are a leading cause of physician burnout, according to numerous surveys and studies. Burnout is a recognized threat to patient safety and care quality, and one of the most important reasons that healthcare leaders can no longer accept perpetual delays that are forcing clinicians to continue using inefficient systems.
Bad Medicine: Drug Overdoses Are Rising, and So Is Drug Diversion in Healthcare Settings
With recent increases in drug overdose deaths in more than 40 states stemming from COVID-19, combined with potential disruption to the pharmaceutical supply chain, it’s not a leap to see that the healthcare industry is facing incredible risks related to drug diversion.
IHI CEO Emphasizes Need for ‘Curb Cut Solutions’ to Patient Safety Issues
Mate, who was named the organization’s CEO in June, said the search for ways to build a better healthcare system should embrace the concept of targeted universalism, which is an inclusive way to implement interventions. A prime example of targeted universalism is the curb cut, which was initially created to provide public streets accessible to wheelchair users, but now benefits a wide variety of people for various reasons.
Assessing and Addressing Interprofessional Teamwork in Hospitals
The recent research article, which was published by The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, is based on data collected from four U.S. hospitals that were participating in the Redesigning Systems to Improve Teamwork and Quality for Hospitalized Patients project. The project is crafted to establish and spread care models that increase interprofessional teamwork and improve outcomes for hospitalized patients.
Virtual Hospital Expands Inpatient Capacity During Coronavirus Pandemic
Charlotte, North Carolina-based Atrium Health features 50 hospitals and other healthcare facilities in three states. The health system launched a virtual hospital at home program for COVID-19 patients in March and recently published a study about the initiative in Annals of Internal Medicine.
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.