Imagine this scenario: The Joint Commission surveyor arrives in the surgical services suite and asks about the use of flash sterilization. He or she is escorted to the location of one of the flash sterilizers just as the tray of items is being removed by a staff person. The staff member uses a...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 3
Hospitals look for ways to improve patient education all the time. Once in a while, this education pays dividends on multiple levels—like the case of Parrish Medical Center in Boca Raton, FL, where an education program on Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) not only caught a significant portion of...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 3
The Joint Commission officially announced the most-cited standards for the first half of 2009 and Life Safety standards top the list. Back in 2007, the Life Safety chapter consisted of only a single standard (EC.5.20) but was subsequently split into seven standards, leading citations for this...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 2
When the Joint Commission released its "Power Pack" on medication storage it suggested at least two risk assessments (access to respiratory care medications and storage of electrolytes).
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 2
In 2006, Pam Harmon, RN, legal nurse consultant and chief nursing officer at Fredonia (KS) Regional Hospital (FRH), in Fredonia, Kansas, took a closer look into her facility’s employee code of conduct.
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 2
Patient and family education is one of those problematic standards and requirements for improvement that boggles my mind. In the course of patient care, every patient/family interaction is an opportunity to educate.
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 2