ECRI: The Rules on Copying and Pasting Medical Information
n 2016, the ECRI Institute’s Partnership for Health IT Patient Safety released its Health IT Safe Practices: Toolkit for the Safe Use of Copy and Paste. The toolkit outlines the risks and benefits of reusing medical information in electronic health records (EHR), along with four safe-practice recommendations on copy and paste policies.
Nurses Drive Change in Patient Safety Improvements
Nurses have the greatest opportunity to keep patients safe. It’s here, through patient engagement, that nurses are leading change.
AMA: Surprise Surveys Improve Mortality Rates
A new AMA study found that patients are less likely to die if they are treated on the same day as a surprise Joint Commission survey.
FDA Ban On Powdered Medical Gloves In Effect
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ban on powdered medical gloves went into effect on January 18. It’s now forbidden to use, advertise, and market powdered surgeon’s gloves, patient examination gloves, and absorbable powder for surgeon’s gloves at medical clinics and hospitals.
Patient Safety Stories: How One Hospital Leveraged Interdisciplinary Collaboration to Tackle a Flawed Medication Management System
While all organizations face their own set of challenges when it comes to ensuring operational excellence and patient safety, one particular issue rose to the top at this facility requiring immediate attention: Like many small, rural facilities, the hospital didn’t have a 24/7 pharmacy, and relied on automated dispensing cabinets (ADC) to provide most medications on the acute care floor. Unfortunately, these machines were often inadequately stocked, resulting in a host of issues for nursing staff.
GOP Bill’s Unheralded Changes In Rules Could Undermine Health of Neediest
An under-the-radar provision in the Republican proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act would require the millions of Medicaid enrollees who signed up under the Obamacare expansion to renew their coverage every six months — twice as often as under current law.
How Palomar Health Reduced Nuisance IV Alarms
People can grow used to anything, even alarms. Such is the danger of alarm fatigue; when excessive and nuisance alerts cause healthcare staff to become desensitized.
IHI, NPSF to Merge, ‘Re-energize’ Patient Safety Agenda
IHI CEO Derek Feeley will lead the combined organizations, which together are calling for a “coordinated system-wide effort geared at providing safe care delivery across all aspects of care.”
Joint Commission: Leaders Are Safety Culture Linchpin
Solid leadership is central to promoting and sustaining a culture of safety in any healthcare organization, The Joint Commission said in a Sentinel Event Alert published at the end of February, reminding leaders that it’s their job to identify and mitigate potential pitfalls on an organizational level.
ISMP’s Targeted Medication Safety Best Practices for 2017
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) released its 2016–2017 Targeted Medication Safety Best Practices for Hospitals guide in December 2015. This year there were five new best practices and two revised out of 11 total.