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Hospital at Home Rules Changing, Need Attention

Hospitals with hospital at home programs should consider legal and compliance risks since public health emergency has ended. Multiple regulatory issues are involved.

With Law Enforcement, Be Courteous but Follow HIPAA Rules

When patrol officers or detectives request access to protected health information, healthcare providers should be reminded they are required to follow confidentiality protections governing these details and should be aware of the applicable limitations as well as ramifications if the rules are violated.

When ED Is Packed, Keep Patients Moving with Triage Hallway, Dedicated Staff

Since Pull to Infinity was implemented in June 2022, the average time it takes to see a provider in the ED has dropped from 22 minutes to seven minutes. This, despite continually expanding volumes. The average patient arrival-to-discharge time has improved to 175 minutes, down seven minutes. Also, the leave-without-being-seen rate declined from 3.5% last year to 1.6% in the first four months of 2023.

Patient Progression Hub Optimizes Throughput, Centralizes Decision-Making

Children’s Mercy in Kansas City aims to leverage an impressive array of artificial intelligence-driven tools, predictive analytics, and other feats of engineering to hone patient flow to new heights of efficiency.

Emergency Nurse Criminally Charged for Diverting Pain Medications

There are specific malpractice risks for EDs in this situation. Risks for patients include inadequate pain relief and infectious disease transmission. There also are patient safety issues related to receiving care from an impaired provider. For leaders, there are processes to put in place that can help them identify patterns or trends indicating potential diversion.

Shorten Lengths of Stay, Reduce Revisit Rates for Pediatric Patients Who Present with Behavioral Health Needs

EDs might rely on telemedicine from a third-party company, a sister hospital with pediatricians on staff, consult services from local pediatricians, or ensure at least one provider in the department is trained in pediatric care.

What Happens if Police Bring a Child to the ED?

Try gathering healthcare providers, quality officers, the legal department, security, and local law enforcement monthly to discuss disagreements about minors in custody. These conversations can inform efforts to revise policies, with the goal of preventing future disputes.

EDs Need Clarity on Policies for Law Enforcement Interactions

Any hospital policy related to patients who are in custody or incarcerated should be developed in conjunction with the relevant law enforcement agencies. Leaders should establish that patients in custody with capacity are their own medical decision-makers. The policy also should include how to identify an appropriate surrogate decision-maker, if necessary.