PSQH Innovation Awards Winner: SCL Health Improves Process for Prone Positioning of COVID-19 Patients
The fourth annual PSQH Innovation Awards recognize healthcare organizations who overcame patient safety or quality improvement challenges. In this article, we highlight the winning submission selected from SCL Health in Broomfield, Colorado. Thanks to Patricia McGaffigan, RN, MS, CPPS, vice president of safety programs at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, for her help in evaluating the submissions.
IAC Accredited Facilities Are Committed to Providing Safe, Quality Care
By Tamara Sloper Now more than ever, patients are seeking evidence of quality and safety in their health care settings. The ongoing pandemic has heightened awareness amongst patients as they seek to ensure that they are receiving medical care in facilities that are following established safety protocols and procedures. Facilities that have earned accreditation by … Continued
PSQH Quick Poll: Taking the Pulse of Patient Safety
As part of PSQH’s celebration of Patient Safety Awareness Week, we decided to reach out to our readers with a few questions to find out the state of patient safety efforts in 2022. Part of PSQH’s Patient Safety Awareness Week activities, this PSQH Quick Poll is presented in partnership with GOJO – the makers of Purell, Nuance, PDC, and the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission. The Quick Poll had a total of 210 respondents.
How an Anesthesiologist Discovered a Simple Patient Safety Tool
By Christopher Walters, M.D. During my 20 years as an anesthesiologist, I’ve appreciated the field of anesthesiology for being a leader in improving patient safety through technological innovation and training. Ten years ago, my own personal interest in patient safety innovation was heightened when I had the unfortunate experience of a patient medication administration … Continued
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 49 – How Female Physicians Can Prevent Burnout
On episode 49 of PSQH: The Podcast, Dr. Tammie Chang, author of the new book Boundaries for Women Physicians: Love Your Life and Career in Medicine, talks about how female physicians can prevent burnout, stress, and exhaustion. Part of PSQH’s Patient Safety Awareness Week activities, this episode is presented in partnership with GOJO – the makers of Purell, Nuance, PDC, and the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission.
Improve patient safety in the emergency department through AI
By Dr. Daniel J. Sullivan A 2020 study by Newman-Toker, et al. identified that 15 diseases account for about half of all serious misdiagnosis-related harms. The research focused on the “Big Three” categories of vascular events, infections, and cancers and found that 10% of patients with a “Big Three” disease are misdiagnosed. A likely explanation … Continued
Workforce Shortages Identified as Top Patient Safety Concern of 2022
ECRI is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of care across all healthcare settings. The organization’s annual Top 10 patient safety list is developed by multidisciplinary staff at ECRI and the organization’s affiliate, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). Patient safety concerns are also validated by scientific literature as well as ECRI and ISMP data such as accident investigations and reported medication safety problems.
Resistance Isn’t the Enemy; It’s a Valuable Resource!
By Lori Moore Hand hygiene is an evidence-based best practice that spans across all hierarchies and disciplines,1 and every healthcare facility is faced with the challenging task of continually rolling out improvement efforts. Multimodal strategies are recommended to bring about changes in hand hygiene performance, among which is the task of determining healthcare workers’ barriers … Continued
10 Recommendations to Improve Pandemic Preparedness
The United States was inadequately prepared to respond to the coronavirus pandemic such as insufficient supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE). The country leads the world in COVID-19 deaths, with 991,260 lives lost as of today, according to worldometer.
AAMI Announces Newly Updated Standard on Endoscope Cleaning
The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) just announced the release of an updated version of ANSI/AAMI ST91:2021 Flexible and semi-rigid endoscope processing in health care facilities. The last version of the standard formulated by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and AAMI was released in 2015.