A team approach to reducing infections resulted in the neonatal ICU (NICU) of Children's Hospital at Providence in Anchorage, AK, receiving the 2010 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award for innovation and patient safety and quality at the local level. The award is...
Ten years ago at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, two patient safety culture assessment survey tools were used-one to assess staff members' perception of where the organization stood with respect to safety as a strategic initiative (otherwise known as a...
You can't read anything about patient safety and quality or health reform without running into the topic of healthcare-associated infections (HAI). The issue tops a list of priorities for many health-related government institutions (e.g., Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, CMS),...
Q: What must be documented in the medical record when a critical test result is reported from the laboratory to an inpatient nurse rather than directly to the physician?
No one in healthcare ever wants to hear about a serious clinical adverse event occurring, especially in his or her own hospital, but every clinician and caretaker knows that sometimes, despite best efforts, mistakes are made.
Physicians and nurses learn their practices in different schools. Their schedules are different, and sometimes, it seems their priorities are also different. It can be hard to get along. But they truly have one common goal in mind: great patient care.
How humbling it is to shadow the steps of our frontline caregivers. Previously in this column, I've mentioned the incredible value in slipping into a pair of scrubs and spending time shoulder-to-shoulder with clinicians and care teams. As I continue to conduct nursing research for...
Patient falls are one of the most common adverse events in a hospital setting, making them an easy target for indifference after a while. But when staff at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, a 325-bed hospital in Laguna Hills, CA, noticed a spike in its patient fall rate during...
