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At the first sign of nosocomial spread of Acinetobacter baumannii, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian took a bold stance. Hospital employees and physicians would be held accountable for their hand hygiene.
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Proposed changes in a Joint Commission infection control standard may accelerate the trend toward mandatory influenza vaccination policies.
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National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: Science blog (www.cdc.gov/niosh/blog/), Twitter (twitter.com/niosh/), Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/niosh/), YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/NIOSHSafetyVideos), Facebook and MySpace.
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Hospitals aren't doing enough to protect their employees from infectious diseases, U.S. Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) administrator David Michaels, PhD, MD, told employee health professionals in a recent Webinar for members of the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP).
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The Joint Commission's proposed changes in the influenza vaccination standard for hospitals include the following:
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Make sure your health care workers are handling hazardous drugs safely.
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Social media is opening up new avenues for delivering health and safety information.
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When biometric scanning was introduced at Carolinas HealthCare System in Charlotte, NC, registrars handed out marketing and informational material to all patients.
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(Editor's Note: This is the second part of a two-part series on patient identification processes used by patient access departments. This month, we report on new biometric technology being implemented by a growing number of hospitals. Last month, we covered processes used to verify a patient's identity, the expected impact of healthcare reform, and involving patients in the process.)
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At Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, CT, members of the patient access staff have been collecting ED copays since 2004, reports Margaret Trudel, patient access manager, "but we continue to make adjustments to improve." Previously, about 12% of identified copays were collected at the hospital's main ED, Trudel says.