-
With federal officials requiring the use of N95 respirators for H1N1 pandemic influenza A patients, an emergency services nurse provides a clinical tip to properly use the masks without contaminating them.
-
Floor covering and floor cleaners may seem like subjects for a facilities manager and not occupational health professionals. But flooring is a critical aspect of one of the most common injuries in hospitals.
-
Don't come to work sick. Perform hand hygiene after all patient contacts or after shaking someone's hand. Report any flu-like symptoms.
-
Three infection control organizations the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology have written President Barack Obama, requesting an immediate moratorium on OSHA enforcement of the use of N95 respirators in relation to novel H1N1.
-
News: A man with a history of suicidal ideation was involuntarily admitted to the hospital. The next day, the man was transferred to an acute care psychiatric facility and placed on 15-minute observation status by the on-call physician.
-
Lean management is a big trend in the business world these days, including the health care arena, but risk managers may assume that the "lean" is all about budget cutting and belt tightening. Not at all, say the experts in this strategy and the health care providers who are using it.
-
The string of wrong-site errors at Rhode Island hospital may be attention-getting, but the hospital is not the only one experiencing this never event. An identification error led to a pregnant woman undergoing a CT scan intended for another patient at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, AZ, which is now prompting litigation.
-
It is challenging enough to ensure compliance with Medicare billing rules within your own organization, but don't forget that you also can be drawn into someone else's scam. Federal authorities are cracking down on billing fraud that originates outside your hospital, and if you aren't careful, you can be caught up in the prosecution, with all the attached liability.
-
Ironically, the fifth wrong-site surgery occurred at Rhode Island Hospital as it continues working with The Joint Commission's Center for Transforming Healthcare on improving surgical protocols. The hospital volunteered for the project to improve the safeguards to prevent patients from undergoing wrong-site, wrong-side, and wrong-patient surgical procedures.
-
When the same "never event" happens five times in two years at the same hospital, something is terribly wrong. Risk managers and patient safety experts are aghast at the reports coming from Rhode Island's largest hospital and wondering what it means about the culture of that institution and the state of patient safety efforts across the country
