Hospital
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Diagnostic Errors Continue, Technology Part of Solution
Diagnostic errors continue to plague the healthcare system, but some progress is happening thanks to technology that can reduce the chance of an error reaching the patient and causing harm. Optimal results may require a more deliberate training program for those using the technology.
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Insulin Pen Project Improves Patient Safety with EMR Modification
Staff at a Maryland hospital discovered a patient safety issue with insulin pens that was traced to the electronic medical record’s (EMR) inability to generate patient-specific labels efficiently. A root cause analysis revealed the process gaps, and staff developed a solution that ensures patients receive insulin doses only from their own pens.
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Be Serious About Promoting Successes
Quality improvement professionals put a great deal of work in improving quality of care and patient safety, with projects both grand in scale and small but significant. But once an organization achieves success, how do leaders make sure the right people know about it?
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Layers of Legal Protections for Peer Review Committees
A hospital’s executive and officers liability insurance usually will apply to peer review committee members. There also are protections under federal law providing immunity for participation, particularly the Healthcare Quality Improvement Act. There are state-level statutes to provide immunity, although those laws vary widely.
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Best Practices for Recruiting Peer Review Committee Members
Well-run peer review committees are essential to maintaining high-quality performance for physicians and nurses, but recruiting for those committees can be challenging. Physicians and nurses may resist the time commitment or fear legal and professional repercussions from passing judgment on their peers. Those fears can be dispelled by educating physicians and nurses about the peer review process. Savvy recruiting techniques can help create effective peer review committees.
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New Guidelines Reinforce Need for Change in Cervical Cancer Screening Practice
Screening standards for cervical cancer have changed over the past two decades, including several updates since the first consensus guidelines, published in 2001 by the American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology. The 2020 revision is based on data showing that patients’ risk of developing cervical precancer or cancer can be estimated using screening test results, biopsy results, and consideration of personal patient factors.
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Educational Sessions for Women with Opioid Use Disorder Improve Engagement
A Maine family planning clinic launched a program to reach women who experience barriers to reproductive healthcare, counseling, and testing for sexually transmitted infections. The program focused on outreach, sending an educator to various locations and providing an educational session for women who are especially vulnerable, including those who use opioids.
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Study: Risk Assessment for Contraceptives Is Influenced by Cultural Biases
Cultural assumptions create unbalanced risk assessment when the medical community weighs the risks and benefits of common contraceptive methods, the authors of a recent study concluded. Researchers studied contraception risks and assessed how these risks were prioritized in reproductive health providers’ understanding of contraceptives and their potential side effects.
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Study: Contraception Program for Incarcerated Women Can Prevent Pregnancies
An estimated 5% of women in jails are pregnant, and human rights groups and researchers have collected evidence that these women often receive poor care and are neglected. One solution is to provide contraceptive care to incarcerated women who would like to avoid pregnancy.
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Contraceptive Use Is Less Consistent for Young Women Experiencing Hardships
Researchers studied more than 1,000 women, ages 18 and 19 years, over several years, asking them weekly questions about their contraceptive use, sex, and pregnancy. They found that women who experience material hardship use contraceptives less consistently.