On July 1, The Joint Commission’s (TJC) new and revised requirements for opioid treatment programs (OTP) will take effect for healthcare organizations accredited under the Behavioral Health and Human Services program. TJC writes that the update will increase access to life-saving medications for...
Hospitals may not top OSHA’s enforcement list compared to high-risk industrial sectors, but they are far from exempt—especially when it comes to workplace violence and serious injury reports.
As I think I’ve noted once or twice over the last little while, I’ve been spending a fair amount of time rummaging around above the ceilings of quality organizations all over the country.
Fire safety may often operate behind the scenes, but in healthcare facilities, it still needs to be front of mind. That’s a core message from Dale Lyman, CFPS, senior fire protection consultant with Telgian Engineering & Consulting and author of the Ambulatory Surgery...
The March edition of The Joint Commission’s Perspectives announced that as of March 30, 2025, accreditation surveys for hospices would include a Life Safety Code® (LSC) surveyor. This comes as part of a group of new and revised requirements for deemed...
While the healthcare environment is very much its own "thing," there are certain universal risks that can come into play in any workplace (some more than others, but it's important to embrace the universal). These fundamental risks include:
There is a lot for an employee to learn when they start at a new laboratory. During their onboarding, they will learn the standard operating procedures for cleaning, using, and servicing lab equipment. They will learn about the proper handling and disposal of hazardous materials and waste. They...
I’ve been ruminating a bit about how AI is going to impact safety operations. I think there’s probably going to be some kind of benefit, maybe managing deficiencies more efficiently.
In this guest column, Dan Scungio, MT(ASCP), SLS, laboratory safety officer for multihospital system Sentara Healthcare in Virginia, and otherwise known as “Dan, the Lab Safety Man,” discusses the important issues that affect your job every day. Today, he...
In March, the American Hospital Association (AHA) published a new Insight Report: Improvement in Safety Culture Linked to Better Patient and Safety Outcomes, which shows improvements to key patient and workforce experiences. These developments indicate better work among team members in...
