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Incidents of perinatal death or permanent disability have declined steadily in recent years, but the tragedy still occurs too often, reports the Joint Commission. JCAHOs most recent Sentinel Event Alert addresses this issue with recommendations for lowering the risk even further.
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A Denver hospital is facing strong criticism and threats of a lawsuit after emergency department staff photographed an unconscious patients genitals and left the photo on the mans digital camera.
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Responding to the lawsuits against charitable hospitals, the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania recently provided its member hospitals with a comprehensive set of guidelines addressing charity care, financial aid, and collection practices.
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The recent lawsuits filed against charitable hospitals has brought attention to the issue of collections practices in health care and made them a major risk, says Scott Becker, JD, a partner in McGuireWoods LLPs Chicago office and one of the co-chairs of the firms health care practice.
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Humanas Personal Nurse training program includes one component that many disease management programs leave out recognizing that people are willing to work on changes according to their own values and not according to the values of an external agent, such as a case manager, Vaughn Keller, MFT, EdD, asserts.
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued interpretive guidelines for the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) final rule that took effect last November.
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One of the issues constantly plaguing ED managers is the hidden bed a precious commodity when a crunch is on. But there are a number of methods that can help identify those beds sooner, says Marty Karpiel, FACHE, FHFMA, president of Karpiel Consulting Group in Long Beach, CA.
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Poor communication in the ED can have dire consequences. In fact, poor communication between health care professionals is the root cause of nearly seven of 10 sentinel events, according to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and nowhere is communication more critical than in the ED. According to the Joint Commission, there were a total of nearly 500 sentinel events in 2003 and more than 400 in 2002.
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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has produced an evidence-based tool to help hospitals evaluate their disaster training drills. Called Evaluation of Hospital Disaster Drills: A Module-Based Approach, it is designed to help hospitals identify strengths and weaknesses in their responses during a disaster drill.
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