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Sharps injuries rank eighth in the top 10 device hazards of 2012, according to ECRI Institute, a research organization and evidence-based practice center based in Plymouth Meeting, PA. That places sharps injuries on par with surgical fires (No. 7) and anesthesia hazards due to incomplete pre-use inspection (No. 9).
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As the lines blur between patient safety and worker safety, employee health professionals can expect much more scrutiny from regulators who traditionally focused on patient care.
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Failing to keep your exposure control plan up to date could lead to a citation from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
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The basic premise of worker safety is to provide layers of protection. If each layer is sufficiently flawed, the protection is compromised. That is the lesson of a recent Health Hazard Evaluation in an Arizona hospital, where 18 employees had a TB skin test conversion in 2011 and one employee developed active tuberculosis.
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The pilot testing version of the CMS survey includes the following elements on hospital employee health:
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The initial notice of audit from the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) asks for a significant amount of documentation and information to be submitted within 10 days of the notice date, but that will not be the end of information for which you'll be asked, says Mac McMillan, chief executive officer of CynergisTek, an information technology security consulting company, who advised a Texas hospital included in the initial audits.
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A study by Regenstrief Institute in Indianapolis and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs investigators provides the first in-depth look at how healthcare providers react to medication alerts generated by electronic medical record systems. They found that clinicians often ignore alarms because they are uncertain what they mean.
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The risk of a medication error rises sharply when a hospital's pharmacy is closed, according to a report by Michael J. Gaunt, PharmD, senior patient safety analyst with the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority in Harrisburg. His recent study found that the incorrect drug was retrieved from an automated dispensing cabinet or night cabinet in 82.3% of wrong-drug events.
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Following the arrest of pediatrician Earl Bradley, MD, for child sexual abuse, and allegations that Beebe Medical Center in Lewes, DE, did not adequately respond to concerns about Bradley, the hospital established a Special Investigative Commission to look at how Beebe might strengthen its internal procedures and practices.
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Although there is no way to know exactly what documents you will be asked to provide in the initial HIPAA compliance audit notice from the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) there are some items you can expect to see on the list, according to experts interviewed by HIPAA Regulatory Alert:
