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I read with interest the article about the study by the Center for Patient Advocacy involving reprocessed single-use devices (SUDs) in the February 2003 issue of Healthcare Risk Management. Included in the article is advice about obtaining informed consent when using these devices. Interesting information, but, there are other perspectives on the issue.
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For years a woman suffered from an obsessive-compulsive disorder, which she believed would be corrected through psychosurgery. The procedure resulted in complete incapacitation, and she brought suit against the provider.
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These are the required steps in the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations Universal Protocol for eliminating wrong-site, wrong-procedure, wrong-person surgery.
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The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations recently called on hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers to reduce the risk of serious and deadly fires in operating rooms with its set of 7 Absolutes to help you educate operating room staff.
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An innovative program at The Baylor Medical Center in Grapevine, TX, has increased reporting of errors and near misses tenfold by encouraging staff to plant a flag when coming across a pothole in the road. The hospital uses the pothole analogy to encourage staff to do something when it sees a potential medical error.
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The next time you see footage of an airline crew working in the cockpit of an airliner, listen to how they interact. They speak clearly to ensure information is conveyed well. Each crew member watches the others work to spot errors. If they can do that while flying from Newark to San Diego, why cant your staff do the same while caring for a post-op surgical patient? They can, according to advocates of a strategy called crew resource management.
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The new 2004 National Patient Safety Goals released recently by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations continue all of the 2003 goals and add one to reduce health care-acquired infections.
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As part of our falls prevention program, were considering more exercise programs for patients at risk for falls, to help them develop stability and balance. But weve heard some concerns that the at-risk patient is better off in bed instead of doing something that could result in a fall. What should we do?
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A 17-year-old female was admitted to a hospital to undergo a breast reduction procedure. While recovering from surgery she received an overdose of morphine, which killed her. The case against the hospital was settled prior to trial for $400,000.
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The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the National Committee for Quality Assurance have started a new Privacy Certification Program for Business Associates to assess whether organizations designated as business associates under HIPAA are meeting essential requirements for safeguarding personally identifiable health information.
