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In every element of the revised 2009 "Universal Protocol for Preventing Wrong Site, Wrong Procedure, Wrong Person Surgery," including verification of procedure, marking of site, and taking time out, The Joint Commission (TJC) has "gotten a bit more specific about who does what and when," says Peter Angood, MD, vice president and chief patient safety officer for TJC.
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a 3% payment increase for hospital-based outpatient programs for calendar year (CY) 2009, while ambulatory surgery specialties will see payment changes ranging from -6% for procedures on the digestive system to 19% for procedures of the musculoskeletal system.
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Despite being pressured, The Joint Commission (TJC) has not dictated in the revised "Universal Protocol for Preventing Wrong Site, Wrong Procedure, Wrong Person Surgery" that surgeons must be the ones who mark the surgical site.
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A Pennsylvania jury has awarded $20 million to the family of an 18-year-old Newtown Square, PA, woman who died after a liposuction procedure.
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The Joint Commission's 2009 National Patient Safety Goals introduce some significant changes for hospitals related to multiple drug-resistant organisms (MDROs) and more stringent standards for how operative sites should be marked to avoid wrong-site errors.
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The risk factors for an elderly patient living at home will be quite different from the risk factors for a patient in a hospital setting.
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Angry, violent individuals need specialized attention, and improperly handling a crisis can mean years of litigation, warns Robert Siciliano, CEO of NurseSecurity.com and a personal security expert in Boston. Fail to act properly and you could face liability from either the injured staff member or the assailant who was injured by your intervention. Or both.
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Violence in the emergency department (ED) is such a common occurrence that staff can become complacent about the risks they face daily. Nowhere else in your organization would employees accept the idea that they may be assaulted at any time, but that attitude can be common in the ED.
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After an extraordinary 14 years of litigation, a Broward County, FL, jury recently entered a $30 million verdict against a hospital and an obstetrician for damages arising out of the birth of a child with brain damage.