Annual Industry Survey: Second Victim Support
Respondents to the 2018 Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare Industry Outlook Survey indicated that second victim support is an emerging issue, albeit one that many facilities have still not tackled.
Alleged Healthcare Consulting Huckster Released on Bond in California
Sonja Emery, 52, who has been known to use a long list of aliases, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit on 11 counts of fraud and tax evasion, for a scam that ran from 2011 through 2014. She’s been accused of continuing to deceive her employers since.
AOHP Asks Healthcare Organizations to ‘Consider’ Mandatory Flu Shot Policies
AOHP, which calls itself “the only national professional organization with the exclusive mission of addressing the needs and concerns of occupational health professionals in healthcare settings,” recently released a position statement that recommends annual flu shots along with other mandatory vaccinations, including hepatitis B and MMR, for healthcare workers.
Report: Medication Errors Led to Patient Death at Boston Children’s Hospital
The errors took place between January and November 2017, involving two medications and leading CMS surveyors to threaten Boston Children’s with potential termination from the Medicare program.
Study: Seasonal Spikes in Antibiotic Misuse
The study authors say their findings suggest that “current initiatives to improve the use of antibiotics in outpatient settings may not be enough to change clinicians’ prescribing practices.” And they feel clinicians must be better equipped “with the tools and knowledge to know when antibiotics are needed.”
Annual Industry Survey: Quality Improvement Initiatives
Once a quality improvement initiative has been launched, it can be difficult to keep it on track. Survey respondents were asked about the biggest challenges in maintaining quality initiatives in their organizations. The most cited challenge was the complexity of collecting and communicating a mass of rapidly shifting information with 50%.
Study: AHRQ Program Helps Hawaiian Hospitals Cut SSI Rate
Between January 2013 and June 2015, all hospitals across Hawaii participated in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) Safety Program for Surgery. The 15-hospital collaborative were part of an AHRQ-funded effort to improve surgical care across the country.
AORN Expects to Revise its Guideline for OR Headwear
Lisa Spruce, AORN’s director of evidence-based perioperative practice, tells OSHA Healthcare Advisor that AORN will still recommend complete hair coverage in that revised guideline, but “there’s not going to be a recommendation on which head covering.”
IHI Hosts Panel to Develop Patient Safety Action Plan
The committee was established in the wake of last year’s call to action issued by the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), which merged with the IHI in 2017. The call to action urged a coordinated response from the healthcare and public health sectors to reduce medical harm.
Are Second Victims Getting the Help They Need?
A 2013 review of healthcare professionals as second victims, published in Evaluation & The Health Professions, concluded that nearly half of healthcare providers would fit this label at least once in their career. A 2017 survey of surgeons found that 80% recalled having at least one intraoperative adverse event within the past year of their practice. Those affected reported having experienced a substantial emotional impact on their well-being, including strong feelings of sadness, anxiety, and shame.