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Injured Nurse Becomes Safe Lifting Advocate, Expert
During a webinar hosted by the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare, a nurse recalled an injury she suffered while lifting a patient. Safe patient handling equipment must be available and accessible for nurses. -
Surgeon General: Health System Overhaul Must Prioritize Worker Well-Being
Vaunted for its medical and technological prowess, the American healthcare system has a critical blind spot that has been widely exposed during the pandemic: Employee wellness. -
Overall Needlestick Rates Hold During Pandemic
Despite healthcare facilities being overwhelmed with COVID-19 in 2020, the overall rates of sharps injuries and mucocutaneous exposures to healthcare workers remained relatively stable, the International Safety Center reports. -
States Sue to Halt COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate in Healthcare
Citing the national shortage of nurses and other issues, 22 states have joined in two separate lawsuits demanding the Biden administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services halt their mandate of COVID-19 vaccination for healthcare workers. -
Legal Action Possible, But Not Always Advisable, for Bad Reviews of ED Visit
Providers must put emotions aside and make hard calculations on what they are looking to achieve — and how much they are willing to spend.
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In ED, Medication Harms Often Caused by Nontherapeutic Use
Of the 96,925 cases included in an analysis, 69.1% involved therapeutic use. Medication-related misuse, abuse, or self-harm caused approximately 62% of ED visits for medication-related harms in patients age 15-24 years, but only 22% of visits for patients age 55-64 years. For patients younger than age 45 years, 52.5% of ED visits involved nontherapeutic use.
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ED Plays ‘Central Role’ in STEMI Care
This includes prehospital cath lab activation, knowing when it is appropriate to bypass the ED, understanding the sequence of events for patients presenting to the ED, knowing what to do to shorten ED dwell time, and knowing what is best to do if awaiting cath lab arrival.
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Patients’ Involvement in Decision-Making Linked to Lower Malpractice Risks
When there is more than one reasonable treatment option, discussing the options with the patient and documenting the discussion may mitigate malpractice risk, especially in the event of a bad outcome.
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Effective Defense for ED if Allegation Is Failure to Rule Out Aortic Dissection
Aortic dissection is not an easy diagnosis to make, and providers cannot order advanced imaging on every person who comes through the ED. But the mere act of documenting why aortic dissection was thought to be unlikely could make the provider reconsider the decision to discharge — and end up saving a life.
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No Reassessment of Patients in Waiting Room or Hallway Is Malpractice Risk
CMS has been clear: EMTALA applies no matter where a patient comes to the hospital, as well as no matter where the patient is seen. That includes the ED waiting room and hallways. Boarding in the hallway should include periodic checking in with the patient to be sure there has not been a significant adverse change that requires the patient to be moved to a higher level clinical setting.