CMS Updates State Operations Manual
The updated Interpretive Guidelines for CMS surveyors includes most—but not all—of the new or revised Conditions of Participation for discharge planning and burden reduction outlined in two final rules published in September.
Safety Is a Top Priority for Hospitals, Yet Many Report Safety Gaps
The survey, conducted from July to August 2019, found that improving patient safety is among hospital leaders’ top three priorities over the next two years. Yet the survey also found that only 20% of hospital executives said their organization is a “safety innovator,” meaning it has the resources committed to provide state-of-the-art patient safety management.
CMS Offers Training on New Electronic Form for Restraint-Related Deaths
CMS announced the new electronic form and provided instructions on how to use it, including a video, in a Quality, Safety & Oversight Group memo, on December 2.
Going Lean Can Reduce Risk, Improve Care
Johns Hopkins researchers found that most errors stem from systemic problems such as poorly coordinated care, fragmented insurance networks, the absence or underuse of safety nets, and other protocols. Healthcare organizations have begun to give such risks the attention they deserve—and some are using Lean principles to do so.
Becoming a High-Reliability Organization Through Shared Learning of Safety Events
Successful focus on and prevention of relapse requires leaders at all levels to constantly employ mindfulness through a concern over failure as a core strategy in maintaining reliability. Organizations commit to resilience through embracing human-factor failures and rapidly learning from them when they occur.
Is Your Health System Ready for an Integrated Applications Platform?
While some specialty software solutions may offer more features and functionality than those of a single vendor, it often comes at a substantial internal cost. Purchasing and licensing expenses for multiple systems can easily stack up, not to mention staff time for managing vendor relationships and coordinating system implementation, training, and servicing.
Should You Conduct Allergy Testing for Asthma Patients in Primary Care?
Up to 60% of adults and 90% of children with asthma may have allergic triggers. That connection is part of why the Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma recommend specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) testing to look for allergic sensitizations that may be contributing to inflammation.
Anesthesiologists Play Critical Role in Identifying Undiagnosed Sleep Apnea
While sleep apnea affects 9%–24% of the general population—or 29.4 million American men and women, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM)—more than 90% of cases remain undiagnosed.
The Use of Mobile Devices in Healthcare
Between 2015 and 2018, the number of mHealth apps available for download doubled. Industry experts anticipate that this impressive growth rate will continue for many years and that the market will reach a whopping global value of $60 billion by 2020.
Touching Eyes: Disinfecting Ophthalmology Devices
Despite the infection dangers, The Joint Commission’s advisory says that healthcare workers are often unaware of disinfection requirements or misinterpret manufacturer instructions for cleaning. Many people use the wrong type of cleaners on ophthalmology devices.