The CMS Patient Safety Structural Measure (PSSM) went into effect this January for acute care hospitals and for cancer hospitals exempt from the Prospective Payment System (PPS). Built around five domains, the PSSM is meant to assess whether hospitals have a structure and culture that...
Near misses—unplanned incidents that have the potential to cause harm but do not—present valuable opportunities to identify systemic vulnerabilities and prevent adverse outcomes in settings like behavioral health.
Ensuring safety within hospital environments is a multifaceted challenge that requires constant vigilance and adaptation. Healthcare facilities must navigate complex regulatory landscapes, maintain intricate safety systems and foster a culture of continuous improvement to protect patients, staff...
The role of a health equity officer (HEO) is to steward equity in a healthcare facility and ensure care quality regardless of a patient’s ethnicity, wealth, sexuality, or age.
Suicide prevention, hand hygiene, medication safety, and patient identification are all on The Joint Commission’s list of National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) for 2025. NPSGs were designed to target identified patient safety issues of significant concern and to reduce that risk through process...
Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF), such as Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease, represent an ongoing threat even if their chance of occurrence on U.S. soil may seem low. These highly infectious diseases not only carry a high mortality rate but also present unique challenges for hospital...
CMS frequently uncovers common compliance issues during inspections of ambulatory surgery centers (ASC). These deficiencies involve lapses in infection control, patient safety concerns, and failures to fully adhere to CMS regulations.
The year draws to a close and it’s time for healthcare providers to look back at all the patient safety stories and topics we’ve covered this year. After all, many patient safety issues from 2024 will cross over with us into 2025.
Security budgets, though critical for safeguarding patients, staff, and visitors, aren’t immune to cuts. Drew Neckar, a security consultant with COSECURE Enterprise Risk Solutions, caught up with HSL for some insights on how hospital security leaders can make...
When changes to your healthcare organization occur, your emergency management plan might have to change with it. The last thing you want if a fire or active shooter event happens is to open your emergency plan and find out that the person in charge of a crucial element has retired and their role...
