Report Focuses on Risk to Patients From ED Errors
The study, titled Emergency Department Risks: Through the Lens of Liability Claims, is the latest in a series of reports that explores the increased risk and liability brought on by several patient safety issues in healthcare, and offers suggestions on how to improve.
Study Finds Major Problems With PPE Doffing
According to a report published in May 2019 in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, a journal from The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, researchers found that more than a third (39%) of the 125 healthcare workers observed acquired a multidrug-resistant organism during a patient encounter.
Dangerous Wrong-Route Errors With Tranexamic Acid—A Major Cause for Concern
When given intraspinally instead of a local anesthetic, tranexamic acid is a potent neurotoxin with a mortality rate of about 50% and is almost always harmful to the patient. Survivors of intraspinal tranexamic acid injection often experience seizures, permanent neurological injury, and paraplegia.
De-Escalation: Mitigating Violence in Healthcare
The report, titled Mitigating the Risk of Workplace Violence in Health Care Settings, breaks down stressors and risk factors that can trigger disruptive and sometimes violent behavior.
Joint Commission Offers Drug Diversion Advice, Resources Amid Growing Opioid Epidemic
The alert newsletter, Quick Safety 48, was released in the April issue of Perspectives amid statistics The Joint Commission cited from both the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the American Nurses Association, which together suggest that 10% of healthcare workers in the U.S. are abusing drugs of some sort.
Arming PCPs to Screen and Intervene on Behavioral Health
At a time when the prevalence of drug overdoses is contributing to a reduction in life expectancy, when alcohol accounts for one in every 10 adult deaths in the United States, and when depression and suicide rates continue to rise at an unprecedented rate, there is renewed impetus to treat substance use and mental health issues like other health conditions.
When Is a Doctor Too Old for the Job?
According to a 2017 study published in JAMA Surgery, the number of practicing physicians older than 65 in the United States has increased by more than 374% since 1975. In addition, in 2015, 23% of practicing physicians were 65 or older.
Digitally Driven: Link Technology to Process Change
Measuring digital success via number of dashboards delivered fails to recognize the limited capacity of managers and staff to ingest dashboards and meaningfully act upon them. Digitally driven organizations tie each dashboard to specific objectives of the organization and ensure that users find the dashboards helpful in completing their work.
The Return on Investing in Elder Care
IHI describes an age-friendly health system as one where older adults get the best care possible, experience no healthcare-related harms, and are satisfied with the care they receive.