This year has been full of interesting healthcare topics worthy of a year-end wrap-up. We start our journey with the idea of emergency medical services (EMS) helping with readmissions and end with one of the world's scariest viruses to date.
Few health emergencies have the ability to ignite such widespread panic as a potential epidemic. In the previous decade, hospitals have dealt with public health scares surrounding SARS, bird flu, and H1N1, but in 2014, Ebola has moved front and center in the U.S., a country that previously...
After much anticipation from patient safety experts, on October 20, The Joint Commission released its new Patient Safety Systems chapter, which will be included in the 2015 Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals. As The Joint Commission previously indicated, the...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 26, Issue 1
As a new year dawns, accreditation professionals look ahead at where the problematic and challenging areas will be for the coming 12 months. A good starting point for many is the annual list of most-cited standards from The Joint Commission. This year, as in years past, the top 10...
Medications prepared and used in the OR and other procedural areas must be labeled. The label should include the name of the medication, the strength, quantity, and diluents, if used, to include volume of diluents if it is not apparent from the container. Explain how and when date and time...
A former University of Wisconsin Hospital nurse accused of stealing morphine could also face a reckless homicide charge for allegedly fatally infecting a patient with a pathogen.
True or false: A postoperative patient who is receiving pain medication should be educated about his or her pain medication as well as other pain management techniques.
