Clorox Healthcare Products Now EPA-Registered to Kill Infection-Causing Pathogens on Soft Surfaces

In the fight against healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), hard surface disinfection is not enough. Dangerous pathogens can lurk on all types of surfaces in healthcare environments, including soft surfaces such as privacy curtains. Recent findings show that 92 percent of hospital privacy curtains are contaminated one week after laundering,[3] yet 37 percent of facilities report that they only launder privacy curtains when they are visibly soiled.[4] If left unattended, contaminated soft surfaces can undermine a healthcare facility’s infection control protocols and pose infection risks for patients, staff, and visitors.

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Lucian and the Librarian

At this year’s Quality Colloquium, multidisciplinary approaches to safety and quality improvement were discussed in many sessions, with benefits cited in the context of leadership, education, scholarship, as well as care delivery.

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Reality Check: The Beryl Institute Revisits the State of the Patient Experience

The Beryl Institute has published a major study of work being done in U.S. hospitals to improve the patient experience. Beryl performed a similar study in 2011, and compares the results from the earlier study to this year’s survey in The State of Patient Experience in American Hospitals 2013: Positive Trends and Opportunities for the Future.

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unSUMMIT Discontinues Conferences to Focus on eLearning for BCMA Education

Jamie Kelly and Mark Neuenschwander have announced the discontinuation of the unSUMMIT for Bedside Barcoding. In a letter to interested colleagues, they explain that after eight years of holding annual conferences, they will now focus on providing “affordable, year-around online education with the same high-quality exchange of peer-to-peer experience for which our unSUMMIT meetings have been known.”

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HHS Seeks Feedback for Draft of National Action Plan for Adverse Drug Event Prevention

Adverse drug events are the largest contributor to hospital-related complications and account for more than 3.5 million physician office visits each year. As a result of increased attention to reduce and prevent the dangers associated with adverse drug events, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons has developed the National Action Plan for Adverse Drug Event Prevention.

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Accountability of Care is the Center of Healthy Reform

Healthcare reform is taking center stage as the industry opens its eyes to a myriad of factors that are re-defining the healthcare landscape. There is an increased focus on patient-centric services and satisfaction that translate beyond the delivery of quality care to also enable the provision of affordable and timely care to achieve better health outcomes. The entire industry is undergoing a transformation triggered by the need to establish accountable care practices to help overcome specific issues that impede the industry’s improvement.

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Medical Centers Adopt Qstream® Mobile Platform to Keep Current on Healthcare Practices

Qstream, provider of an acclaimed mobile platform widely used for professional healthcare education, has announced that several major medical centers and healthcare leaders have purchased Qstream’s solution for use in the ongoing education of physicians and clinicians on a range of topics, including patient safety, infection control, emergency medicine, palliative care, and advanced life support.

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