Is Your Facility Bugged?
There are bugs and then there are bugs. Hospitals have long fought against the invisible bugs, bacteria and viruses, but they often overlook the larger kinds such as flies and bedbugs. Environmental services must keep both in mind as they strive to make a facility safe. To maintain the best environment for patient and staff … Continued
Integrating Quality Into Medical School Curriculum: One Student’s Perspective
By Anne Press
The traditional medical school curriculum has a heavy scientific focus, especially in the first two years. In an already jam-packed curriculum, it can be difficult to replace any of the materials with improvement science. To combat this, Hofstra-North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine launched—with the school’s inaugural class in 2011—a four-year curriculum in patient safety, quality, and effectiveness. The following is an example of the impact this curriculum had on me, a student in that first class.
As I sat through a lecture on biochemical pathways and the pathology that can cause diseases like cystic fibrosis (CF), I was enthralled by the mechanisms of the human body. However, the human element of the disease was missing from the lecture. I was unable to take what I was learning and apply it to actual patients, in real-life settings, and understand how it affected their care.
Process Improvements in the ED increase sepsis bundle compliance, reduce mortality
By improving compliance with the sepsis three-hour bundle, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center reduced patient mortality by 50% in just 90 days Effectively treating any infection requires a certain measure of early identification and rapid response. Infections, by their nature, worsen over time, so hospitals with successful care processes that rapidly identify and treat infections often see … Continued
The Emory Experience: Quality Improvement Skills Labs in Interdisciplinary Education
By Ariadne K. DeSimone In spring 2014, one day after taking my Step 2 Clinical Knowledge of the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE), I finally had time to turn my attention to thoughts about my future and to the email messages that had accumulated over the past month. One announcement stood out: The Emory … Continued
Spectra 900 UVC Overhead Light Disinfection System for Labs, Operating Rooms, and Telemedicine
Spectra254, a provider of UVC light disinfection solutions, has released the Spectra 900 Series Overhead Cleaning System, a fixed decontamination system similar to a ceiling light fixture that kills MRSA, Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), and other pathogens. Using three custom-built germicidal bulbs with protective FEP sleeves, the Spectra 900 Series Overhead Cleaning System is appropriate … Continued
The Emory Experience: Quality Improvement Skills Labs in Interdisciplinary Education
By Ariadne K. DeSimone In spring 2014, one day after taking my Step 2 Clinical Knowledge of the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE), I finally had time to turn my attention to thoughts about my future and to the email messages that had accumulated over the past month. One announcement stood out: The Emory … Continued
DebMed Announces Results of 2015 Survey on Hand Hygiene
DebMed® has announced the results of its 4th annual survey on the state of healthcare hand hygiene compliance. Results from more than 850 healthcare professionals throughout North America show that while improved methods for gathering reliable data with electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring are known to contribute to increased hand hygiene compliance, competing healthcare priorities … Continued
Physical Therapy Joins the Movement
By Susan Carr This year’s annual conference of the American Physical Therapy Association’s Massachusetts chapter (APTAMA) focused on a microcosm of issues in healthcare improvement: value, collaboration, measurement, and spread. After hearing Alan M. Jette, PT, PhD, FAPTA, deliver the keynote address, “System Thinking to Thrive in a Changing Health Care Environment,” I participated on … Continued
The Emory Experience: Quality Improvement Skills Labs in Interdisciplinary Education
By Ariadne K. DeSimone In spring 2014, one day after taking my Step 2 Clinical Knowledge of the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE), I finally had time to turn my attention to thoughts about my future and to the email messages that had accumulated over the past month. One announcement stood out: The … Continued
ECRI Institute Issues Technology Hazards List for 2016
Reprocessing of flexible endoscopes rises to #1 hazard; failure to recognize clinical alarms, health IT errors and other issues remain perennial hazards. Every year hospitals are blindsided and patients are harmed by unexpected health technology hazards. Medical technology is intended to improve patient care, but even the best technology—if configured, used, or maintained improperly—can lead … Continued