Review your policies and procedures for treating suicidal patients in general acute inpatient and emergency care areas following newly finalized recommendations from The Joint Commission.
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 29, Issue 1
George Mills, MBA, FASHE, CEM, CHFM, CHSP, who had served as director of engineering since The Joint Commission established its engineering department six years ago, resigned from the post effective October 9, 2017. But the time had come, he says, to find a more hands-on...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 29, Issue 1
In September, The Joint Commission published Sentinel Event Alert 58, warning healthcare organizations about the dangers of inadequate handoff communications.
In the last week of June 2017, foreign-born computer malware attacked the systems of several U.S. companies—including Princeton Community Hospital in Princeton, West Virginia, and Heritage Valley Health System in Beaver, Pennsylvania.
Phishing emails aren’t just aimed at getting credit card numbers, usernames, passwords, and (in the case of hospitals) patient records and data. They are also used to spread ransomware, like the WannaCry virus in 2017. Consider testing how well staff practice safe email infection control by...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 29, Issue 1
Most would agree 2017 was a long and bizarre year and looking ahead, there’s plenty of news, regulations, and facts that you’ll need to remember. With that in mind, we’ve made you this nifty index of all the BOAQ articles of 2017!
There was plenty of patient safety–related news in 2017. This story index of all the PSMJ articles that ran last year will help you quickly find what you need.
Providers that have been confused about how to handle patients’ requests to access their medical records have a new tool: a model records request form, courtesy of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched a campaign to help bring attention to the dangers of sepsis, a condition that is fast becoming the number one cause of death in U.S. hospitals.
Called “Get Ahead of Sepsis,” the program was launched last August as an...
This past summer, a spotlight was shone on the risks posed by Legionella. The bacterium is frequently found in healthcare settings, and the diseases it causes (Legionnaire’s disease and Pontiac fever) are common and often life-threatening.
