Annual List of Top 10 Health Technology Hazards Released
What could possibly go wrong in hospitals? Many things, according to ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit that researches the best approaches to improving patient care.
Using Simulation to Coordinate Care for Cardiac Surgery
A six-month-old girl is undergoing repair of a hole in her heart, and while on cardiopulmonary bypass (the machine that pumps the blood through the body while the heart is stopped), there is massive bleeding from the heart…
Alarm Management: First Things First
When Hedy Cohen, RN, BSN, MS, a critical care nurse and former vice president of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), was admitted to a major medical center with severe abdominal pain, she and her husband, Michael Cohen, RPh, MS, ScD (hon.), DPS (hon.), president of ISMP, were dismayed by the number of medical device alerts and alarms she had to endure…
A New Approach to Fall Prevention in Inpatient Care
Like most hospitals, our organization—St. David’s North Austin Medical Center in Texas—is focused on preventing patient falls. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimates that 700,000 to 1 million patients fall in U.S. hospitals each year.
Making It Easy for Nurses to Reduce the Risk of CLABSI
Increased compliance with the 2002 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines for Prevention of Intravascular Catheter-Related Infections (O’Grady, Alexander & Dellinger, et al. 2002) resulted in a significant decrease in early stage (less than 4 days) central-line associated bloodstream infections…
Editor’s Notebook: Thank you, Don
I voted for Don Berwick in September and wish I could have done so again in November. A political first-timer, founder and previously CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and administrator…
News: Mayo Clinic Shares Lessons Learned and Promotes Social Media in Healthcare
Mayo Clinic is committed to catalyzing the broad use of social media—by organizations, clinicians, administrators, patients, families, and advocates—to improve healthcare.
News: The Chief Experience Officer: An Emerging & Critical Role
Through the voices of 15 patient experience leaders, this report from The Beryl Institute explores the growing role of Chief Experience Officer (CXO), which encompasses a broad portfolio of resources…
News: Sentrian Focuses ‘Remote Patient Intelligence’ Capability on Chronic Disease
Sentrian™, has developed technology that health plans can use to monitor and analyze data from patients’ remote biosensors, which allows the plans to anticipate health problems and intervene with treatment before patients are in acute need of care.
Root Cause Analysis: Useful Activity or Busy Work?
We have been thinking about how root cause analysis (RCA) is conducted and how effective is it when properly performed. Relevant factors include the actual methodology, the skill of the practitioners, and the seriousness of purpose.