I-Flow Take ACTION Program Arms Physicians and Hospitals with Tools to Manage Post-Surgical Pain
I-Flow, LLC, a Kimberly-Clark Health Care Company and manufacturer of the ON-Q Pain Relief System, has announced a new service for hospitals designed to reduce reliance on narcotics for post-surgical pain management and improve both the quality of care and financial outcomes.
NPSF Announces New Educational Opportunity for ABMS Member Board Diplomates
The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) has announced an agreement with the American Board of Medical Specialties® (ABMS®) to bring patient safety education to physicians participating in the ABMS Program for Maintenance of Certification (ABMS MOC®).
What Does Healthcare Transformation Mean for Risk Managers?
At the opening session of the annual conference of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM), futurist Ian Morrison described current changes in the U.S. healthcare industry and how they relate to the interests of risk managers. While the Affordable Care Act is important and the obvious driver of change, Morrison is convinced that current trends—consolidation, cost reduction, and realignment of risk—will continue, independent of the federal legislation.
athenahealth and Quantros Partner to Provide Patient Safety Initiative
Quantros, the leading provider of cloud-based services for quality, safety, and clinical business intelligence solutions across the continuum of care, and athenahealth, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATHN), a leading provider of cloud-based services for electronic health record (EHR), practice management, and care coordination, has announced a first-of-its-kind arrangement between a Patient Safety Organization (PSO) and a health IT supplier, in which thousands of clinical providers and provider organizations across the U.S. will gain free access to a safe, privileged environment in which they can easily submit patient safety concerns and findings as well as share best practices to enhance safety and improve care.
Connecting Population Health to Patient Safety
The topic of population health often comes up in conversations about healthcare quality as organizations aim to leverage information about their patient populations to improve the quality of care they provide. However, a focus on population health goes beyond just improving quality—at its core, population health management enhances the fundamental safety of patient care.
Put Your Wi-Fi Network to Work for Safety and Security
Diane Hosson
Healthcare organizations have never had higher security needs. A safe environment is essential to quality patient care, and administrators must consider many different factors, including protection of patients and staff and the security of assets—often across sizeable facilities. Protecting high-risk groups, such as newborn babies and emergency department nurses is particularly critical and challenging for healthcare organizations. And the need for security extends all the way to medical equipment and assets that can be stolen or misplaced, increasing costs and affecting patient care and satisfaction.
Joint Commission Alert: Preventing Retained Surgical Items
The Joint Commission has issued a Sentinel Event Alert urging hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers to take a new look at how to avoid mistakenly leaving items such as sponges, towels, and instruments in a patient’s body after surgery.
Intimidation Still a Problem in Hospital Workplace, ISMP Survey Shows
Recently released survey results from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) show that bullying, intimidation, and other types of disrespectful behavior remain a problem in the healthcare workplace, and continue to erode professional communication, which is essential to patient safety and quality.
Nation’s Emergency Physicians Announce List of Tests and Procedures to Question as Part of Choosing Wisely Campaign
Dedicated to reducing health care costs and improving patient care, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has announced a list of five tests and procedures that may not be cost effective in some situations and should prompt discussion with patients in order to both educate them and gain their agreement regarding avoidance of such tests and procedures, when appropriate. These recommendations are part of ACEP’s participation in the ABIM Foundation’s Choosing Wisely® campaign.
Social Technologies: Meeting the Challenges of Population Health
Social technologies offer powerful tools that can be applied in healthcare settings to improve the quality of care and patient safety, especially as the U.S. healthcare delivery system transforms to accommodate changes brought about by the Affordable Care Act and aging baby boomers.