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Finding someone usually a nurse to blame without looking at the underlying reasons an error was made. Failing to involve hospital leaders in fixing serious systemic problems. Changing a policy or educating staff without addressing necessary process changes.
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During an October 2003 survey conducted at Fort Lauderdale, FL-based Broward General Medical Center by The Joint Commission, surveyors recommended improvements with the organization's pediatric sedation process.
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The radiology lab at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in the Boston area has nearly cut the wait time for patients in half through the implementation of a Six Sigma process improvement initiative. What's more, the program has also saved the department more than $700,000 with increased efficiency.
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ThedaCare's Appleton (WI) Medical Center has cut its average length of stay by 20% and improved quality, safety, and patient satisfaction by transforming the way it provides care.
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Here are common mistakes made by organizations performing root cause analyses (RCA), with solutions offered by Claire Davis, vice president of quality at Norwalk (CT) Hospital:
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OR nurses want to clear the air in the operating room. The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) in Denver issued a position statement in April urging hospitals and other health care providers to reduce exposure to surgical smoke and bio-aerosols released in laser and electrosurgical procedures.
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This past winter, influenza vaccine expert Gregory Poland, MD, director of the Mayo Vaccine Research Group at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, got the flu. Yes, he had the flu vaccine. But this year, the vaccine was not a good match with the prevailing strains.
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Education alone will not boost your influenza vaccination rates, but a dogged campaign that includes declination statements can produce higher rates.
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To prevent transmission of measles in healthcare settings, airborne infection control precautions (available at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/gl_isolation.html) should be followed stringently.
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Make sure you know the measles immune status of your employees—and have ready access to the information. That is the message to employee health professionals contained in a recent public health advisory from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.