Technology
RF Technologies Releases Sensatec Fall Management Alarms with New Features
RF Technologies, a leading provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) healthcare safety and security solutions, recently announced the release of renewed alarm units for their Sensatec Fall Management Solution, bringing added features to staff in senior living communities, hospitals, and rehabilitation facilities.
Patient Safety
Complimentary Knowledge Assessment in Partnership for Patients Clinical Topics Offered
Medical Simulation Corporation (MSC) offers healthcare organizations a complimentary opportunity to assess their healthcare provider team’s understanding of the evidence-based guidelines associated with several clinical topics targeted for improvement by the national Partnership for Patients initiative.
Environment and Facilities
Ecolab Healthcare Launces Encompass O.R. to Improve Hygiene
In late March, Ecolab Inc. launched the EnCompass™ O.R. Environmental Hygiene program, which provides healthcare facilities with a proven approach to improve the cleanliness of operating rooms (O.R.) and reduce the risk of infections. The training and education program has received the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) “Seal of Recognition” for meeting the guidelines set forth in AORN’s Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices.
Patient Safety
EMP Forms Patient Safety Organization
Emergency Medicine Physicians (EMP) is now listed as a Patient Safety Organization (PSO) by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), on behalf of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Infection Control
Research Demonstrates Bacterial Contamination in Pharmacy Robots
Drug dispensing robots designed to quickly prepare intravenous medications in a sterile environment can harbor dangerous bacteria, according to a report in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
Technology
AHRQ Develops Common Formats – Hospital Version 1.2
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has developed Common Formats – Hospital Version 1.2, which features new content to incorporate event-specific formats.
Accreditation & Regulation
The Joint Commission Enterprise Launches HAI Portal
On April 2, The Joint Commission enterprise launched a health care-associated infections (HAI) electronic portal that provides a wealth of HAI resources. The “HAI Portal” is a joint effort of The Joint Commission enterprise, which includes the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, Joint Commission Resources, and Joint Commission International.
Technology
Enhanced Health IT Teaching Materials Now Available to the Public
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has announced that an enhanced set of 20 curriculum components is now available to the public at no cost, including all institutions of higher education nationwide and internationally.
Uncategorized
“Show Me the Money”
By Carlos Nunez
A curious thing is happening.
As the healthcare conversation moved front and center over the last several years, a correlation developed linking cost and quality. Politicians and providers, payors and patients have embraced these complementary themes as the “one-two punch” that will win the fight to keep our healthcare system safe, solvent and sustainable. As far as punches go, it sounds almost painless: Make the system better and safer, and the savings will follow. Who would argue with that logic?
Now it seems that some prominent voices have started to pivot the conversation toward the need for greater cost control, suggesting that quality and safety efforts alone may not deliver the necessary savings.
Infection Control
Collaboration Announced to Prevent Surgical Site Infections and Other Adverse Outcomes
A joint, strategic partnership to improve surgical patient safety at the national level was announced on April 16 by leaders of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At the core of the alliance is a desire to sustain and strengthen quality health care by combining expertise and organizational resources in tracking, reporting, and preventing surgical site infections (SSIs) and other adverse outcomes among surgical patients.