Harris Health System vs. Hurricane Harvey
More than 400 employees from Harris Health had homes significantly damaged or destroyed in the flood. With so many workers impacted by the floodwaters, response and recovery after the storm meant helping staff members as well.
IHI Report Calls for Improved Home Care Safety
The report was produced by a panel of subject matter experts convened by IHI and funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. It notes that the increase of care provided in the home requires healthcare organizations to be cognizant of the many risks of harm in that setting.
CMS Revises Memo on Requirements to Reduce Risk of Legionella Infection
While there are no new expectations for hospitals or critical access hospitals, be aware it does add a specific statement that “facilities must have water management plans” as well as a new note that testing for waterborne pathogens is left “to the discretion of the provider,” according to the letter to CMS’ Quality, Safety and Oversight group, formerly the Survey & Certification group.
Workplace Culture Could Drive Physician Burnout, Medical Errors
One study by researchers at the NYU School of Medicine found that physicians who work in small, independent primary care practices with five or fewer physicians report dramatically lower levels of burnout than the national average.
Innovative Wound Dressing Could Reduce $10B Cost of Surgical Site Infections
A study published July 4 in Nanomedicine found that electrospun nanofiber-based wound dressings loaded with a bioactive form of vitamin D spur production of an antimicrobial peptide that fights infection naturally.
Q&A: Photos and Wristbands for Patient Identification
Austin F. Mount-Campbell, PhD, is a patient safety fellow at the Center for Medical Product End-user Testing in the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. He’s done previous studies on the efficacy of patient ID wristbands and patient handoffs.
How ‘Smarter’ Smartphones Help Hospitals Safeguard Patients
Both patient safety and quality care depend on providing accurate, meaningful information to the right person at the right time. Today, smartphone platforms and apps not only facilitate timely handoffs—a cornerstone of patient safety—but also integrate with hospital system software to provide clinicians with data from EHRs, biomedical devices, and hospital pharmacies and laboratories.
The Importance of Bringing a Nursing and Clinical Perspective to Facility Design
After adverse event investigation sessions, actions and processes are developed and put into place to help prevent recurrence. That’s why those who were involved in the event—generally frontline caregivers—should always play a role in the original design process as well as the resolution process. Doing so could prevent events not just from recurring, but from ever occurring at all.
Hospital Occupancy Impacts Infection Risk in Unexpected Ways
After analyzing data for a new study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, they found some surprising results. Patients were more at risk for C. diff infections when the hospital was moderately full.
Study: CMS Penalties for Hospital-Acquired Conditions Have Little Impact
The targeted billing codes were rarely used by hospitals, and the study found that when hospitals billed for HACs during a patient’s stay, it infrequently affected the diagnosis-related group assignment, impacting hospital reimbursement.