True or false: Informed consent includes information on the risks and hazards of a particular treatment, the alternatives or options available to the patient, the risks and hazards of the alternatives or options, and any other information that will help the patient make a well-informed decision...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 8
In May, CMS released a set of updated clarifications to the often-challenging Anesthesia Services Conditions of Participation (CoP) Interpretive Guidelines.
These updates affected the following areas of Appendix A of the CMS State Operations Manual, section 482.52 a and b...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 8
Patients expect that every safeguard is in place when receiving healthcare services. The challenge is how to make this happen with the complexities of the system in which healthcare is delivered, as safe medication practices lie within the purview of multiple individuals. A 2006 study by the...
All you need to take advantage of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) latest tool is hospital administrative or claims data. Called MONAHRQ (My Own Network, Powered by AHRQ), the free tool is a software program built to allow organizations to analyze data and/or create their...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 8
Survey coordinators are challenged to help their organizations navigate accreditation requirements, assess their organization’s compliance, and coordinate survey visits. Today more than ever, with limited available resources, organizations must be sure that resources used to fix issues...
The concept of a just culture is relatively new to the healthcare industry and has become a critical and necessary component of any organization’s approach to improving patient safety. I have quickly learned the importance of just culture as I review patient safety events, attend root cause...
The term “malpractice” often invokes images of courtrooms and spiraling insurance rates, but malpractice data can often be used for the purpose of fostering patient safety. In the surgical world, that information is increasingly more important as the amount and types of surgeries performed climb...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 8
Systemic change does require visionary leadership. The board of trustees for our facility established a new three-year strategic plan based on our six indicators of success. One such indicator is Quality & Patient Safety, and the board determined that this indicator should include a vision “...
Q. We are in the process of moving to an electronic system. How have other hospitals managed co-signatures on high-risk medications when nurses are scanning meds and patient IDs at the bedside? We would like to make it as easy as possible for the nurses.
