Joint Commission Eliminates Use of ‘Licensed Independent Practitioner’
The Joint Commission (TJC) will no longer use the term “licensed independent practitioner” in its hospital and critical access hospital standards. Starting February 19, 2023, the term “licensed practitioner” will be used.
Pain Relief vs. Addiction and Overdose: Four Steps to Maintain an Appropriate Equilibrium
Opioids have become a substance of concern due to their propensity to spark misuse and addiction. Tragically, the CDC estimates that there have been about 1 million drug overdose deaths since 1999, of which 82.3% involved a synthetic opioid.
Hospital Amoxicillin Supply Not Keeping Up With Surging Demand
Data from Vizient, a healthcare consultancy with supply chain services, showed a 43% surge in demand for amoxicillin products in the acute care setting from September to October 2022. In that same period, fill rates dropped by 25%. This data comes from purchases by Vizient members, which encompass more than 60% of the nation’s healthcare organizations.
CMS Hones In On Underperforming Nursing Homes With Tougher Oversight
Eighty-eight nursing homes participate in the SFF Program, which is 0.5% of all nursing homes in the country. The Program was created to help nursing homes improve compliance and quality, however, some facilities have not been able to achieve the necessary standards to graduate from the Program, or they fail to sustain compliance.
IHI Forum: Leadership Pivotal in Implementing Joy in Work Initiatives
The IHI Framework for Improving Joy in Work is designed to reduce healthcare worker burnout and increase healthcare worker well-being. Healthcare worker burnout has spiked dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic, with a recent research article finding that 62.8% of physicians reported at least one symptom of burnout in 2021 compared with 38.2% in 2020.
Medication Adherence: Technology’s Role in Improving Outcomes
A lack of prescription adherence has cost the U.S. more than $524 billion a year due to morbidity and mortality, according to the PAN Foundation. Organizations must look for ways to remove barriers to adherence to ensure patients can access the prescriptions they need, including through the utilization of technology platforms.
CMS Posts Reminder to Maintain COVID-19, Flu Protections
In a Quality, Safety & Oversight Group memo to survey offices nationwide, CMS said “all providers and suppliers should continue to implement appropriate infection control protocols for COVID-19,” as well as the flu, and included links to CDC guidance on both.
CMS Urges Hospitals to Take Violence Prevention Steps
To provide care in a safe setting for both patients and healthcare workers, hospitals need to identify patients at risk for intentional harm to themselves or others, CMS recommended in its November 28 memo, as well as identify environmental safety risks for such patients and provide education and training for staff and volunteers. CMS said it expects hospitals to demonstrate how they identify patients at risk of self-harm or harm to others and what steps they are taking to minimize those risks.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 67 – Workplace Violence Prevention in Healthcare
On episode 67 of PSQH: The Podcast, AlGene Caraulia, vice president of Integration and Sustainability for Crisis Prevention Institute, talks about workplace violence prevention in healthcare.
Survey: Health Systems See Technology as a Key to Improving Patient Access
The Top of Mind for Top Health Systems 2023 report, released this week by CCM, the innovation arm of UPMC, and KLAS Research, represents the thoughts of 61 leaders from 59 healthcare organizations, and marks the second year in a row that patient access is at the top of the to-do list. Some 28% of those surveyed for this year’s report rated it as the problem that has the greatest potential to be improved via digital health–and one that has been greatly impacted by the pandemic.