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In the latest move in the continuing saga of the National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) on medication reconciliation, The Joint Commission has said while it will continue to evaluate compliance with the standard during on-site surveys, "it will not be factored into the organization's accreditation decision and will not generate Requirements for Improvement [RF])." The new policy, announced recently, became effective retroactively to Jan. 1, 2009.
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Most managers have been pushing extra hard to improve safety over the last few years, and The Joint Commission says all the hard work is paying off.
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Keeping costs under control is always an important consideration for ED managers, but in these challenging economic times, it has become critical.
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While a recent severe ice storm in Owensboro, KY, held most of the city in a standstill for several days, well-laid plans for just such a disaster helped keep ED staffing at adequate levels in the Owensboro Medical Health System.
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While the response rate (4.6%) was small, the message delivered in the results of a survey by the Emergency Nurses' Association (ENA) was huge: Significant barriers still remain to compliance with National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) in the ED.
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The ED at Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, NC, has realized annual savings in excess of $1 million with the implementation of staffing strategies that involved the virtual elimination of contract staff and overtime for nurses.
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The hiring of physician scribes, known as "clinical information managers," has helped Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, a five-hospital system based in Laguna Hills, CA, to save a significant amount of money by avoiding the hiring of physician assistants (PAs) for its two EDs.
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The ED managers and administrators at Cuyahoga Falls (OH) General Hospital and the Greater Baltimore Medical Center agree that careful attention to design considerations in their new departments significantly improved patient flow and communications among staff members.
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A new initiative at Boston University Medical Center called the Re-Engineered Hospital Discharge Program (RED) has significantly reduced additional ED visits and readmissions.
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Telemedicine has long been recognized for improving access to care as well as access to specialist expertise, particularly in rural facilities. Now, in an unpublished study just completed in Rochester, NY, the lead author says it also can offer a possible solution to overcrowding when it comes to pediatric ED patients, many of whom, he asserts, easily could be treated by a primary care physician.
