Health Risk Management Week Resources from PSQH
As Health Care Risk Management Week wraps up, we want to call attention to the important work done by professionals as they identify potential risks and respond to adverse outcomes. Thanks to our partners Origami Risk and Riskonnect this week for their support.
Will a ‘National Patient Safety Board,’ Modeled After the NTSB, Actually Fly?
Two measures are underway to create a safety board: A bill filed in the U.S. House in December by Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.), which is expected to be refiled this session, calls for the creation of a board to help federal agencies monitor safety events, identify conditions under which problems occur, and suggest preventive measures.
UPMC Closes Care Gaps With New Patient Discharge Process
Recognizing the logjams that can occur when leaving the hospital, UPMC has launched a new patient discharge process that consolidates decision-making under one clinical care coordinator and creates a platform for data gathering.
Focusing on Hand Hygiene to Prevent HAIs
The report, Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections Through Hand Hygiene: 2022 Update, was published in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. The Society of Healthcare Epidemiologists of America gathered the subject matter experts who performed and managed the report’s literature review.
To Fix Medicare Spending, Prevent Fractures Among Aging Americans
Almost one in six Americans are at increased risk of a fracture due to osteoporosis or low bone mass. Each year, 1.8 million Medicare beneficiaries suffer more than 2 million osteoporotic fractures, which lead to 432,000 hospital admissions and 180,000 nursing home admissions.
A National Patient Identifier Is Up for Debate. Patient Safety Is Not
Misspellings, address changes, maiden and married names, and many other factors make it difficult to match people to their medical records. In fact, the accuracy of matching patients to their records can be as low as 80% within a single care setting and as low as 50% among organizations that share electronic health information.
CMS Investigates Two Hospitals Who Refused Woman an Abortion
According to news reports, the woman was told by doctors at the hospitals in Kansas and Missouri that she faced sepsis and possible loss of her uterus but could not get an abortion in either state because of recently passed laws.
The Leapfrog Group Launches ‘Innovators for Leapfrog’ Program
Innovators for Leapfrog (IFL) was created for Leapfrog’s community of over 42,000 professionals in healthcare quality, hospital leadership, payors, employers, and other stakeholders who support Leapfrog’s work to transform patient safety in the U.S.
Counting Will Resume for Minimums for Ventricular Assist Device Procedures at End of PHE
For hospitals with cardiac programs that include performing ventricular assist device (VAD) implants, The Joint Commission offers the reminder that as of May 12, 2023, CMS will resume monitoring the number of procedures done by the VAD team as part of determining coverage under Medicare.
Should a Pharmacist Be Allowed to Deliver Primary Care Services?
Primary care providers are under a lot of stress these days. Pharmacists can help them. That was the takeaway from an intriguing panel at last week’s HIMSS 2023 conference and exhibition in Chicago.