Construction Miscommunication
Administrators can encourage this storytelling approach to ensure that designers, contractors, and maintenance staff better understand how their decisions may impact all of a building’s occupants.
Opioid Prescriptions Take a Dive
According to data from the Danbury, Connecticut–based IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, opioid prescriptions in general declined by 10.2% in 2017. Prescriptions for the highest doses fell by 16.1% in 2017 as well, and dropped more than 33% since January 2016. The report also found that prescription opioid volume has decreased every year over the past five years in all 50 states.
Cleanliness Sensors: Using Technology to Improve Hand Hygiene Compliance
Lutheran is among the healthcare organizations nationwide that in recent years decided to try hand hygiene monitoring technology in the hopes it could improve hand hygiene compliance—and in the process reduce the number of infections and avoid citations from accrediting organizations like The Joint Commission, which in January put stricter enforcement in place.
Urinary Catheters Pose More Risks Than Just CAUTIs
In-depth interviews and chart reviews from more than 2,000 patients found more than half of catheterized hospital patients experienced a complication of some kind. The issues ranged from pain, bloody urine and activity restrictions while the catheter was in, to problems with urination and sexual function after it was removed.
The Case for Making Simple Changes
Healthcare providers are struggling to implement improvements and rarely have time for meaningful engagements with patients that could translate to even the smallest advances in patient care.
New Study Finds Use of PIV Maintenance Bundles Helps Prevent Bloodborne Infections
The study, “A Bundled Approach to Decrease the Rate of Primary Bloodstream Infections Related to Peripheral Intravenous Catheters,” was published in the March 2018 issue of The Journal of the Association for Vascular Access and found that implementing a PIV maintenance bundle using disinfecting caps and tips successfully decreased primary BSIs from 0.57 to 0.11 per 1,000 patient days.
New Patient Safety Panel Unveils Areas of Focus
The goal of the committee is to provide a coordinated response from the healthcare and public health sectors to reduce medical harm. The committee is creating a national action plan, which it hopes to implement by the start of next year. The group will meet quarterly, with subcommittees to work on the focus areas.
Discharged Patient Found Dead in Hospital Bathroom
Police said the 60-year-old man, whose name was not released, died on June 21 at the hospital. Hospital officials initially treated the incident as an internal matter and did not contact police until 9:45 a.m. the following day, Mlive.com reported.
Q&A: Joint Commission on Workplace Violence
The Joint Commission has released Sentinel Event Alert 59, which addresses violence—physical and verbal—against healthcare workers. Patient Safety Monitor Journal spoke with Victoria Fennel, of Compass Clinical Consulting, about the alert and healthcare’s culture of violence.
Hawaii Hospital Investigates Possible Legionella Outbreak
Doctors believe the deceased patient and another who has been released acquired Legionella outside the hospital. But the state Department of Health stepped in after learning two other patients developed symptoms after already being hospitalized, making it possible they contracted Legionnaire’s in the hospital.