BD Launches Fully Sterile Surgical Skin Preparation
Skin antiseptic products are used to reduce bacterial burden on skin prior to performing invasive medical procedures, such as injections or surgical incisions. In this role, skin antiseptics, including alcohol, iodine, and chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG), are part of the frontline in infection control. [i],[ii],[iii],[iv],[v] As our understanding of factors leading to infection has evolved, so … Continued
Good Steps to Safety: Guidelines for Communication and Health Literacy
Partnership between professionals and patients to maintain communication and health literacy can improve healthcare safety. However, involving and committing patients to their health requires professionals to possess broad skills.
IHI Pushes Safety as a Primary Business Strategy
Hospital leaders must adopt safety and quality as primary business strategies, rather than regarding them as tertiary metrics that rank below finances and other stressors on the C suite’s list of top priorities, according to Derek Feeley, president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
Safety Is a Top Priority for Hospitals, Yet Many Report Safety Gaps
The survey, conducted from July to August 2019, found that improving patient safety is among hospital leaders’ top three priorities over the next two years. Yet the survey also found that only 20% of hospital executives said their organization is a “safety innovator,” meaning it has the resources committed to provide state-of-the-art patient safety management.
Educating Consumers About Genetic Testing
A 2018 study published in Genetics in Medicine by clinical testing lab Ambry Genetics found these DTC genetic tests had a 40% false positive rate. In addition, 17% of variants in raw data from DTC tests were misinterpreted as high risk.
Predicting Flu Season Remains Difficult, but Get Ready for a Doozy
CDC statistics show that the 2018–2019 season broke records, logging in at 21 weeks long, from October 1, 2018 to May 4, 2019. Up to 42 million cases of the flu were reported, resulting in 20 million medical visits, 647,000 hospitalizations, and about 61,000 deaths.
Q&A: The Impact of To Err is Human at 20
Since the report’s initial claim that as many as 98,000 people die annually from medical errors, there have been major strides in changing healthcare organization’s systemic problem, workplace cultures, and improvement processes.
ECRI Institute, ISMP to Combine Efforts
The transaction, which is expected to close on January 2, will see ISMP become a subsidiary of ECRI Institute. Both are nonprofit organizations that promote patient safety by highlighting adverse effects, near misses, and unsafe conditions in various healthcare settings.
Communication Determines Patient Safety
Partnerships with the patient start with cooperation and commitment, where the health professional must be close to the patient to act as a true “observer.” Observation allows the clinician to assess the patient’s needs and “essence,” enabling the relationship to grow and promoting favorable health outcomes.
New Survey Casts Doubt on Severity of Physician Shortage
The new survey report, which is based on data collected from 2,000 patients and 750 physicians, says the AAMC’s physician shortage estimate could be overstated. In particular, the survey report found that only 19% of patients struggled to have a new visit with a generalist and only 15% struggled to set a new visit with a specialist.