What Providers Can Do This National Suicide Prevention Week
National Suicide Prevention Week is September 10-16, bringing awareness to the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. This week is a time for physicians, nurses, and other providers to learn more about how their healthcare organizations can help suicidal patients.
How to Spot Suicide and Ligature Risks in Your Facility
Last year The Joint Commission issued a Sentinel Event Alert to hospitals urging them to do a better job of identifying suicidal ideation in patients, this year the accreditor is doubling down, issuing specific warnings in Joint Commission publications and FAQs outlining concerns about ligature, or hanging, risks.
How to Prevent Maternal Mortality
This article appears in the September 2017 issue of Patient Safety Monitory Journal. More women are dying during pregnancy and childbirth than 15 years ago Maternal mortality is a measure of how many mothers die from pregnancy-related complications while carrying or within 42 days after birth. And in most of the developed world, this number … Continued
TX Hospitals Shutter as Harvey Batters Houston
Hurricane Harvey unleashes catastrophic flooding, forcing some healthcare providers to shut down and evacuate patients.
Elder Abuse: ERs Learn How To Protect A Vulnerable Population
Because visits to the emergency room may be the only time an older adult leaves the house, staff in the ER can be a first line of defense.
Diagnosing Human Trafficking When A Patient Is A Victim
The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) is launching a new national initiative on human trafficking and healthcare. The initiative will include tools for human trafficking awareness and prevention in healthcare, as well as the formation of the Alliance for Care Coordination of Children in Human Trafficking.
Be Prepared For Summer Patient Safety Hazards
Hospital EDs are extremely busy during the summer months because of accidents and injuries. While there’s no word yet on whether 2017 will break a heat record (though we hope not), you can expect it to bring a familiar brand of dangerous situations. But are you prepared for them?
Improving Transgender Patient Care
The single most important thing a physician can do in caring for transgender patients, is to advise them where to find counselors who can provide appropriate gender dysphoria therapy. Why? The transgender population is at nine times the risk for attempted suicide as the general population.
Structured Patient Handoffs: The Movement Toward Adverse Event Reduction in the Perioperative Unit
Clinician handoffs spiked in 2011 after the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education implemented rules to limit the number of hours residents worked.
Scope Maker Olympus Hit With $6.6 Million Verdict in Superbug Cases
More than 25 patients and families, from Pennsylvania to California, have sued Olympus alleging wrongful death, negligence or fraud. Federal prosecutors also are investigating Olympus and two smaller manufacturers over their potential roles in patient infections.