The holidays are a stressful time for many people, even without the added burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), increased alcohol and substance use, and increased political polarization. A 2014 National Alliance on Mental Illness study showed...
Conduct your drills for maternal hemorrhage and maternal severe hypertension/preeclampsia by the end of 2021. Be sure they include a multidisciplinary team to debrief and evaluate how well you performed.
Staff education and orientation on procedures to handle those emergencies will be...
In 2001, the Institute of Medicine released Crossing the Quality Chasm, a landmark report that signaled a new era in the healthcare industry’s view of patient care quality. Fast forward 20 years, and healthcare systems are still coming to grips with the report’s conclusion that...
I received an interesting question this week regarding whether or not there was a need for UV protection in a supply room with windows (for the purposes of this...
CMS has joined with OSHA in suspending its mandate for COVID-19 vaccination of healthcare workers, but says hospitals are welcome to enforce the requirement voluntarily.
The numbers are staggering—more than 10,000 prescription medications on the market, with many patients on more than one medication at a time (PSNet, 2019). According to a recent study by the Get the Medications Right Institute (GTMRx), nearly a quarter of the patients surveyed said their medical...
In preparing for your upcoming survey, review how your facility stands up to the top 10 most challenging standards within the physical environment outlined by Herman A. McKenzie, MBA, CHSP, director of engineering for TJC’s Standards Interpretation Group during the 2021...
Much-needed holiday happiness might be around the corner, but now’s the time to review your hospital attire and holiday decoration policies. Then remind managers and staff what the expectations are for costumes and decking those halls.
Workflow is a set of tasks grouped into processes that require the interaction of people and resources to accomplish defined goals. There are methodologies to carefully examine systems, and more specifically workflows, that can enable optimizations for better efficiency, safety, and satisfaction...
