Massachusetts Voters Say ‘No’ to Mandatory Nurse-Patient Ratios
For months, the law has been hotly debated. Those in favor said it would improve patient safety and care. Those opposed said it didn’t account for patient acuity and would create a financial burden on hospitals and healthcare systems.
Case Study: Human Trafficking Prevention at Dignity Health
Between 2007 and 2017, the National Human Trafficking Hotline has identified 43,564 human trafficking victims living in the U.S. At least 88% of these victims visit a healthcare provider at least once during their captivity and aren’t recognized as victims, say experts.
Physician Burnout Poses Patient Safety Risk
The meta-analysis of 47 studies, published in the Journal of American Medical Association Internal Medicine, included more than 40,000 physicians.
What a Black Box Warning Can Do for Innovation and Patient Safety
Minimally invasive surgery, from a safety perspective, has been shown to result in shorter hospital stays, faster healing times, and cosmetic benefits associated with less significant scarring.
Guided Reflection: A Strategy to Reduce Patient Falls and Fall-Related Injuries
After reviewing the literature, the team at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa implemented a guided reflection policy to enhance the information shared at Fall Friday Reviews.
This Simple Tool Predicts Readmission Risk for Heart Attack Patients
The risk model, which is detailed in a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, features seven variables that can be scored in as little as five minutes during a patient’s first day of hospital admission.
The Devastating Effects of Silence
In an article published July 2018 in BMJ Quality and Safety, researchers found that in a survey of family members of ICU patients, significantly more than half were hesitant to speak up about possible mistakes, mismatched care goals, confusing or conflicting information, or even inadequate hand hygiene.
CMS to Use Joint Commission Recommendations on Ligature Risk as Guide
Regardless of what organization you might use for accreditation, assess your hospital’s suicide prevention compliance against Joint Commission recommendations with a detailed risk assessment and mitigation plan.
Florida Health System Defends Its Handling of Nurse Accused of Raping 3 Patients
The system, which goes by Lee Health, has until September 28 to hand the records over to a patient who’s suing the organization for its failure to protect her from Jeovanni Hechavarria, RN, who allegedly raped her while she was admitted overnight at Cape Coral Hospital in 2016.
PSS-3: Three-Question Suicide Screener for the ER
The tool consists of a short introduction and three questions, with an optional fourth item if the person has previously attempted suicide. It’s meant to be given during triage or primary nursing assessment and has been validated for use on patients 18 and older.