Patient Safety in Africa: A Culture Shift?
Patient Safety in Africa: A Culture Shift?
Patient safety has received increased attention in African countries in the last decade, yet little is known about African patient safety challenges and quality improvement opportunities.
Telluride Interdisciplinary Patient Safety Roundtable
Telluride Interdisciplinary Patient Safety Roundtable:
Medical Students’ Daily Narrative Reflections
As each new report of medical harm is published, the need to redesign medical education to prepare young physicians capable of approaching patient care in ways that decrease the opportunity for harm reaches a new level of urgency.
The Stories Behind the Data
The Stories Behind the Data
Narratives in event reporting database reveal opportunities for fall prevention.
Patient falls continue to be one of the leading causes of adverse events and patient harm in hospitals (Dykes et al., 2010). Injuries from falls can increase the length of hospital stay and increase hospital costs (Dykes et al., 2010; Krauss et al., 2007). As a result, fall reduction and prevention has become the focus for many national and international organizations (Szumlas et al., 2004).
Gray Market, Black Heart
ISMP
Gray Market, Black Heart
Pharmaceutical gray market finds a disturbing niche during the drug shortage crisis.
Widespread accounts of frustration, outrage, and serious compromises to patient care came across loud and clear from purchasing agents and pharmacists at 549 hospitals who participated in ISMP’s July-August survey (2011) on gray market activities associated with drug shortages.
The Link Between Transparency and Patient Safety
Event Reporting
The Link Between Transparency and Patient Safety
Since early 2010, 13 private, acute care hospitals in Rhode Island have been collaborating in a major initiative to improve patient safety through better reporting of data on adverse and near-miss medical events. The hospitals now use the same medical event reporting technology and have standardized their reporting criteria.
Provider-Friendly Terminology Speaks the Language of Quality and Safety
Medical Terminology Management
Provider-Friendly Terminology Speaks the Language of Quality and Safety
As a practicing physician, my peers often ask me what I do in the technology arena. When I reply, “standardization or medical terminology management,” I’ve usually lost them. And at its core, the goal of standardization really is not to complicate matters for physicians and other clinicians. Provider-friendly terminology (PFT) is an example of the kind of standardization our industry needs.
Health IT & Quality
Health IT & Quality
It’s All About Jobs
What would Steve do? Steve Jobs, the 20th century’s greatest and most successful innovator, engrained that mantra into the heads of every Apple employee. Only those staff members who thought through problems the way Jobs did would offer solutions that were acceptable to their boss.
Editor’s Notebook
Editor’s Notebook
‘Do No Harm’ to Clinicians, Too
In her work as president of MITSS (Medically Induced Trauma Support Services), Linda Kenney has always included clinicians among those who may need support following traumatic events in the course of medical care. She has steadily increased her efforts on behalf of clinicians in recent years, publishing a toolkit in 2010 to help organizations design and implement programs.
Patient Safety and Health IT
by Susan Carr
The Institute of Medicine’s consensus report, Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Care, gives a realistic, sobering view of the safety implications of electronic medial/health records (EHRs)…
NEXT STEP Program Wins 2011 HOPE Award
Nov. 14, 2011—The winner of the 2011 MITSS HOPE Award is the NEXT STEP Program at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Emergency Department in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The HOPE Award Honors Outstanding People Everywhere who have furthered the MITSS mission of Supporting Healing and Restoring Hope to patients, and families, and clinicians who have been impacted by adverse medical events. RL Solutions’ President and CEO, Sanjay Malaviya, presented the award at the MITSS 10th Annual Dinner and Fundraiser held at the Westin Copley Place, Boston, on Tuesday, November 1st.