Incomplete Processes, Insufficient Documentation Were Top Concerns in HFAP Surveys
According to the 2019 HFAP Quality Review, incomplete processes and insufficient documentation were the most-cited standards during 2018 on-site surveys at acute care hospitals, critical access hospitals, laboratories, and ambulatory surgery centers.
CDC: Declines in Staph and MRSA Have Slowed
The data has prompted the CDC to encourage hospitals to take action in defense against outbreaks of bacterial infections such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA).
Annual Industry Survey: Assessing Suicide Risk
Asked to rate their organization’s effectiveness in assessing and preventing suicide risk, 43% of respondents to the 2019 Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare Industry Outlook Survey said that their organization is slightly effective at addressing the problem.
WHO Recognizes Burnout as ‘Occupational Phenomenon’
The WHO defines burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” A WHO statement made it clear that burnout is listed as an “occupational phenomenon. It is not classified as a medical condition.”
Workplace Eating Habits Affect Hospital Employees’ Health
Employees’ health can affect an organization’s bottom line in multiple ways. Prior research shows obesity contributes to higher absenteeism, lower productivity, and higher healthcare expenses for employers.
Seattle Hospital Shuts Down ORs After Finding Fungus
Aspergillus is a common type of mold that poses a low risk to surgical patients, but Seattle Children’s is contacting about 3,000 patients who underwent procedures in the past four months.
Joint Commission Issues De-escalation Guidebook for Healthcare Facilities and Workers
The January publication, titled Quick Safety 47: De-Escalation in Healthcare, acknowledges that violence in healthcare settings is on the rise, so frontline staff need to know de-escalation techniques and solutions to quell potential violence and aggression.
Risk-Adjusted Models for Measuring Hospital Quality of Care
Despite the growing emphasis on and sophistication of quality and safety measurements, few measurement systems take into account one of the most important realities of healthcare: All patients are not created equal, even those with the same diagnosis.
Language Access: Meeting Patient Needs While Increasing Compliance and Improving Outcomes
As we grapple with how to accommodate the needs of limited English proficient patients, as well as patients who are deaf or hard of hearing, it’s important to consider why prioritizing patient language access is so important and how to do this consistently across a healthcare facility or health system.
Sexual Assault Victim Sues the Hospital that Treated Her
The information collected from the victim was stored on an unsecured electronic health record, where it later was allegedly improperly accessed by an x-ray technician, who allegedly passed the information on to the alleged perpetrator of the sexual assault.