Patient Safety Monitor Blog

Three words for patient safety

Heather Comak — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:18:38 +0000

I came upon a patient safety project done by Abington (PA) Memorial Hospital (AMH) this morning that I wanted to share on the blog. The staff at AMH used the “Your Three Words” segment from the Good Morning America program to brainstorm a patient safety project for the facility. Although I’m not a Good Morning America [...]

Three lessons from France on reducing HAIs

Heather Comak — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:50:02 +0000

My colleague Janice Simmons at HealthLeaders Media attended 5th Decennial International Conference on Healthcare Associated Infections 2010 where she learned about France’s efforts to reduce HAIs. Since 2004, the country has been using robust mandatory public reporting as a means of preventing the spread of HAIs. Although the French healthcare system and the American healthcare [...]

Report says medical students need increased training on patient safety

Heather Comak — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:46:22 +0000

The Lucian Leape Institute at the National Patient Safety Foundation released a report last week calling for an increased focus on patient safety in medical school curricula. The report, Unmet Needs: Teaching Physicians to Provide Safe Patient Care, details 12 recommendations for reforming the current medical education curricula to incorporate these vital aspects of providing [...]

Coming to a hospital near you: Eye scans for patient identification

Heather Comak — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:56:05 +0000

A clinic in the Bronx, NY, has taken to using eye scanners as a means of patient identification, reports CNN.com. Because the main patient base at the clinic is Hispanic, many patients have the exact same names (the article says the clinic serves 103 Jose Rodriguezes!). The clinic, called Urban Health Plan, says that using [...]

Patient Safety Monitor Blog Contest Entry!

Heather Comak — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:33:11 +0000

Another entry received this week into the Patient Safety Monitor Blog Contest concerns a year-long effort to educate staff members about the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG). Robin Jones, quality care coordinator at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Brownsville, TX, entered this week with a description of how staff incorporate the NPSGs into their daily [...]

Joint Commission changes wording in two National Patient Safety Goals

Heather Comak — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:45:07 +0000

This week’s Joint Commission Online called attention to two changes made to the 2010 National patient Safety Goals. The following changes are effective immediately: NPSG.03.04.01, Element of Performance 3: the date of preparation no longer needs to be indicated on medication or solution labels. The full list of what should be included is the medication name, [...]

Patient Safety Monitor Blog Contest entry!

Heather Comak — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:35:48 +0000

I want to highlight some of the entries into the Patient Safety Monitor Blog Contest, in honor of Patient Safety Awareness Week. Today I’d like to share an entry by Anna Green, who works in quality management and patient satisfaction at Boone County Hospital in Boone IA. Her facility has created a patient safety quilt [...]

MITSS accepting nominations for the Hope Award

Heather Comak — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:03:22 +0000

Do you know a healthcare provider or a team within a hospital that has worked to support healing and provide hope to those affected by an adverse event? MITSS, which stands for Medically Induced Trauma Support Services, has announced its annual award in honor of Patient Safety Awareness Week, happening this week (March 7-13). Self-nominations [...]

AHRQ Study: Patients less likely to receive necessary care on weekends

Heather Comak — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:52:55 +0000

A new report out from the Agency for Research and Healthcare Quality shows that patients who go to the hospital on the weekend are less likely to receive the necessary care than patients who visit the hospital during the week, according to HealthLeaders Media. In addition, 2.4% of patients admitted to the hospital on the [...]

OIG report identifes best ways to find adverse events

Heather Comak — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:41:21 +0000

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released a report outlining a study of the most useful method of identifying adverse events. The OIG was required to do so by the The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006. Overall it found that nurse identification and analysis of present on admission indicators revealed the [...]