For the second time in three years, The Joint Commission has released a Quick Safety issue on the topic of improperly sterilized or high-level disinfection (HLD) equipment and devices. The accreditor writes that despite bringing the problem to light in 2014, there’s an increase in cases of...
Hospitals face many challenges in regard to active shooter risk such as providing care to victims of shootings and being prepared in the event a shooting situation occurs at the hospital. In times of crisis, it is imperative that proper protocol is followed to minimize risk to workers and...
The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are considering both the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2017 and the Medicare Telehealth Parity Act (MTPA). The two bills are aimed at lowering CMS restrictions on telemedicine...
As of Monday, May 15, more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries were hit by a ransomware virus called “Wanna Cry.” One of the most notable victims of Wanna Cry was the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS). At least 25 NHS hospitals had to reroute patients and cancel appointments...
In late April, Ann Scott Blouin, RN, PhD, FACHE, executive vice president of The Joint Commission, wrote a blog post detailing the need for a practical approach to healthcare’s endemic workplace violence (WPV) problem. In her post, Blouin explains three methods of violence prevention in...
How much of a role can emergency departments (ED) play in preventing suicide attempts? The world’s largest study of 1,376 suicidal patients gave the answer.
By implementing interventions at the ED, hospitals were able to lower the of risk patients attempting suicide again by 20% compared...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 28, Issue 5
The Joint Commission in March unveiled Sentinel Event Alert (SEA) 57, which stresses the role of leadership in developing and sustaining a culture of safety. It goes on to claim that leadership’s failure in this regard contributes to several adverse events, including wrong site surgery and...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 28, Issue 5
Editor’s note: The ECRI Institute published its annual list of the top 10 health technology hazards for the industry. Readers will note that several of the top hazards in 2017 are the same as those...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 28, Issue 5
Editor’s note: Each year, the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) Institute creates a Quality Roadmap report highlighting different findings related to improving the accreditation process. In the 2016 report, AAAHC found the three top deficiency...
