Joint Commission Releases 2015 Sentinel Event Stats
Last week, The Joint Commission released its sentinel event statistics from 2015. Of the 936 sentinel events reported last year, the most common were unintended retention of a foreign body (116), wrong-site/wrong-side/wrong procedure surgery (111), falls (95), and suicides (95). The most common root causes of sentinel events last year were human factors (e.g., staff … Continued
Alarm Management Compliance Shifts into Second Gear
In the second phase of The Joint Commission’s alarm management NPSG, hospitals aim to put policy into practice For the last two years, healthcare organizations have been working to comply with the first phase of The Joint Commission’s alarm management National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG). As of January 1, 2016, they’ll have to contend with … Continued
Patient Testimonials Lead to HIPAA Breach
Complete P.T., Pool & Land Physical Therapy, Inc. (CPT), a California-based physical therapy practice, agreed to a corrective action plan and a $25,000 resolution amount to settle allegations that it disclosed protected health information (PHI) as part of a video testimonial campaign, HHS says. The settlement is the result of a complaint lodged with Office … Continued
New Sentinel Event Alert Focuses on Preventing Patient Suicide
The Joint Commission released a new Sentinel Event Alert last week, aimed at helping healthcare providers to better identify and treat patients at risk for suicide. Over 1,000 patient suicides were recorded in The Joint Commission Sentinel Event Database between 2010 and 2014. According to SEA 56, the most common cause to the patient suicides … Continued
Hospitals are beginning to rethink opioid prescribing practices
For the last several years, there has been a startling mortality trend emerging in the United States: Each year, middle-aged white Americans are dying at a faster clip than any of their counterparts in different age groups, ethnicities, or countries. It’s a trend that was startling, in part, because researchers couldn’t explain why it was … Continued
Bribery on Two Continents: Olympus Corp. to Pay $646 million settlement
On March 1, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Olympus Corp. with paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to hospitals and doctors to buy its products. The company, which owns 85% of the U.S. endoscope market, has agreed to pay $646 million to resolve the criminal charges and civil charges brought against it. The sum … Continued
Medical Device Vulnerabilities High on CIO’s List of Worries
By Scott Mace, HealthLeaders Media This article originally appeared in HealthLeaders Media. As HIMSS gets underway, the healthcare IT world is still shaking from last month’s audacious privacy breach at a California hospital. Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital paid a $17,000 ransom to a criminal enterprise that broke into the hospital’s system, encrypted data, and demanded an … Continued
AHRQ releases new tool to reduce CAUTI
Building on its Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently released a new toolkit aimed at reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) in hospitals. Released in October 2015, the toolkit consists of three modules: implementation, sustainability, and resources. Hospitals can use … Continued
FDA: Top Three Duodenoscope Makers Release Updated Instructions
On February 19, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that reprocessing instructions for Pentax duodenoscopes had been validated and approved by the agency. The announcement means that scopes from the three major manufactures, Olympus, Fujifilm, and Pentax, are now safe to use with their updated instructions. Five months ago, the FDA issued safety warning … Continued
Nurse Renewal Rooms Benefit Patients, Too
By Jennifer Thew, HealthLeaders Media This article originally appeared in HealthLeaders Media. Hoping to counter stress and compassion fatigue, one hospital has created private spaces for its nurses to process their emotions before returning to their patients, refocused. At least one study links better nursing environments to better patient outcomes. Crying at work is traditionally … Continued