Battling alarm fatigue for improved patient care and safety
By: Jordan Rosenfeld Medical alarms are meant to alert medical staff when a patient’s condition requires immediate attention. Unfortunately, there are so many false alarms — they’re false as much as 72% to 99% percent of the time — that they lead to alarm fatigue in nurses and other healthcare professionals. One study found that … Continued
Joint Commission Seeks to Reduce Maternal Deaths
The Joint Commission says that about 700 women die annually from these complications, stemming mostly from obstetric hemorrhage (excessive blood loss while giving birth). The accreditor notes that rates of maternal hemorrhage are increasing in developed countries, including the United States, leading to the need for increased attention to the problem.
Joint Commission Portal Addresses Nurse Burnout
According to The Joint Commission, of the 2,000 healthcare providers surveyed, more than 15% of all nurses reported feelings of burnout, with ER nurses at a higher risk. A second survey in 2019 found that burnout is among the leading patient safety and quality concerns in healthcare organizations.
Study: More Docs Involved in Patient Care Means Longer Hospital Stays
A new report from Birmingham, Alabama–based point-of-care technology company IllumiCare says that having more providers involved in an individual’s treatment can significantly increase hospital length of stay.
Complications Increase Vaginal Delivery Costs by 20%, Study Finds
The study highlighted the clinical and financial impact associated with potentially preventable health conditions that complicate the childbirth delivery process.
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
Children’s Minnesota CFO on Investing in Virtual Care to Improve the Patient Experience
McCormick told HealthLeaders that her time at Smiths increased her focus on patient outcomes and excited her about the possibility of continuing that mission at Children’s Minnesota, a 414-staffed beds with $1.7 billion in total patient revenue last year, according to the American Hospital Directory.
Going Lean Can Reduce Risk, Improve Care
Johns Hopkins researchers found that most errors stem from systemic problems such as poorly coordinated care, fragmented insurance networks, the absence or underuse of safety nets, and other protocols. Healthcare organizations have begun to give such risks the attention they deserve—and some are using Lean principles to do so.
Becoming a High-Reliability Organization Through Shared Learning of Safety Events
Successful focus on and prevention of relapse requires leaders at all levels to constantly employ mindfulness through a concern over failure as a core strategy in maintaining reliability. Organizations commit to resilience through embracing human-factor failures and rapidly learning from them when they occur.
Should You Conduct Allergy Testing for Asthma Patients in Primary Care?
Up to 60% of adults and 90% of children with asthma may have allergic triggers. That connection is part of why the Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma recommend specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) testing to look for allergic sensitizations that may be contributing to inflammation.