Search Tag: patient safety

ICU Management

Are-single-bed-rooms-cost-effective

2016 06 Jan

Single-patient rooms in the ICU may be more costly to build and operate, but the resultant cost savings from reductions in nosocomial infections outweigh the additional construction and operating expenses, according to a new study published in Journal of Critical Care . Despite recent efforts to improve healthcare quality and safety, there is still...Read more

IT Management

Are-you-paying-your-patients-enough-attention

2015 11 Dec

Technology is becoming integrated into healthcare processes. In the examination room, for example, use of computers is aimed at promoting safer and more efficient care. However, exam room computing is challenging and there is growing evidence that it can be a threat to patient safety. There is an urgent need to develop and implement patient-centric,...Read more

IT Management

Top-10-list-of-health-tech-hazards

2015 16 Nov

Infections from flexible endoscopes, missed alarms, and opioid-related deaths are the top health technology hazards that hospitals and clinicians have to deal with in 2016, according to a new report from the ECRI Institute. The group recently released its  annual top-10 list of technology hazards to help hospitals prioritise technology safety efforts...Read more

IT Management

Antibiotics-app-designed-for-patient-safety

2015 29 Oct

Researchers at the University of Twente (Enschede, Netherlands) have developed an eHealth application that provides support for care providers when administering antibiotics in hospitals. They say this eHealth tool is intended to help improve the quality of work of healthcare professionals that leads to safer patient care. The app was created as part...Read more

Executive Health Management

Study-medication-errors-common-in-surgery

2015 27 Oct

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have found that some sort of mistake or adverse event occurred in 1 out of 2 surgeries studied and in 5 percent of observed drug administrations. Their study of 277 operations at MGH also found that a third of the errors resulted in adverse drug events or harm to patients. The findings were presented...Read more

ICU Management

Johns-hopkins-partners-with-it-giant-on-icu-devices

2015 25 Oct

A new collaboration between the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Microsoft plans to develop an IT solution that will enhance interoperability of medical devices in intensive care settings. The goal is to provide improved health data analytics that can help clinicians identify key trends aimed at preventing injuries and complications that...Read more

ICU Management

Study-do-ehrs-affect-workflow-in-the-er

2015 28 Sep

The transition from a homegrown electronic health record to a commercially available EHR system affected emergency physician work activities, resulting in more tasks performed per minute (or an increase of nearly 12 percent), according to a new study in Annals of Emergency Medicine . Researchers say frequent task switching after the new EHR was implemented...Read more

IT Management

It-patient-safety-roadmap-revealed

2015 25 Jul

The U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has released its Health IT Safety Centre Roadmap, detailing a plan for optimising use of health IT for improved care safety and quality. In recent years, the increased adoption of health IT and electronic health record (EHR) has seen impressive advances in electronic...Read more

Executive Health Management

2015-2016-best-hospitals-report

2015 24 Jul

U.S. News & World Report has released the 26th edition of the Best Hospitals rankings, which are based on consumer-friendly data and information on nearly 5,000 medical centres nationwide. The Best Hospitals methodology measures patient volume, patient safety, risk-adjusted survival rates and adequacy of nurse staffing, among other care-related factors....Read more

Executive Health Management

Nursing-transformational-leadership-for-patient-safety

2015 20 Jul

Patient safety is key to providing quality healthcare. Now a new study shows that hospital nurse managers' (NMs) transformational leadership style can help create an environment conducive to patient safety. The finding is published in the Journal of Nursing Administration . Transformational leaders are proactive and convince followers to strive for...Read more

Executive Health Management

Resident-duty-hour-limits-don-t-improve-surgical-patient-safety

2015 14 Jul

A retrospective study published online in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that work hour restrictions for resident physician, revised in 2011 mainly to reduce fatigue-related errors, have not decreased postoperative complication rates in several common surgical specialities. "Our finding suggests the ACGME reform is not meeting...Read more

Executive Health Management

Eliminating-emotional-harm-to-patients

2015 08 Jul

Hospitals should strive to eliminate emotional harm as much as they do to reduce or eliminate physical harm to patients, according to a BMJ article written by healthcare quality and safety experts from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Emotional harm is defined as something that affects a patient's dignity by the failure to demonstrate adequate...Read more

Executive Health Management

Patient-safety-reducing-dietary-errors

2015 05 Jul

Dietary errors occurred in 285 events reported to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority between January 2009 and June 2014, with eight events causing serious harm to patients. The findings highlight the importance of having dietary standards to ensure that meals served in the hospital meet the needs of patients. Meals delivered to patients who...Read more

Executive Health Management

Preventing-infections-during-healthcare-laundry-process

2015 22 Jun

According to a review published online in  Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), proper laundering and handling are critical for achieving and maintaining hygienically clean quality of healthcare fabrics and textiles delivered to the point of care. Lynne Sehulster, PhD,...Read more

Executive Health Management

Public-reporting-of-clinical-data-question-of-reliability

2015 12 Jun

Public reporting of healthcare and patient safety information has allowed patients to play an increasing role in their own healthcare decisions. With all such information widely available, it is important for patients to know where to look for the most accurate and reliable data. For heart and lung surgery, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) continues...Read more

IMAGING Management

Esr-isr-join-forces-on-patient-safety-in-paediatric-imaging-event

2015 01 Jun

The International Society of Radiology (ISR) and the European Society of Radiology (ESR) collaborated with the WHO, four WHO member states and eight NGOs in an event focusing on patient safety in paediatric radiology. Dubbed "Imaging for Saving Kids - the Inside Story about Patient Safety in Paediatric Radiology", the event was held on the sideline...Read more

ICU Management

Icu-interventions-from-johns-hopkins-sharply-reduce-bloodstream-infections

2015 24 Apr

According to a report by the researchers from the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, interventions focused on evidence-based infection prevention practices, safety culture and teamwork, and scheduled measurement of infection rates considerably reduced central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) across intensive...Read more

ICU Management

Ochsner-health-system-wins-best-comprehensive-integration-award-from-intelligent-health-association

2015 16 Apr

System-Wide Approach Integrates Health IT and Medication Management Platform The Intelligent Hospital Association has announced that Ochsner Health System has been awarded the Best Comprehensive Integration for 2014. The award is given to a hospital or health system that effectively and seamlessly integrates technologies to provide a comprehensive...Read more

ICU Management

Masimo-announces-patient-safetynet-series-5000-with-iris-connectivity-and-myview

2015 16 Apr

Bringing Connected Care and Enhancing Clinician Workflow from the Operating Room to the Medical and Surgical Unit Masimo announced the debut of Patient SafetyNet Series 5000™ along with Iris™ Connectivity and MyView™ through the Root ® patient monitoring and connectivity platform at the HIMSS Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago. This...Read more

IT Management

Poor-ehr-data-integrity-threatens-patient-safety

2015 14 Apr

The second annual report by the ECRI Institute identifies EHR data integrity near the top of its list of patient safety hazards in hospitals. Although many hospitals have invested heavily in systems designed to detect mundane errors in electronic medical records, incorrect or missing data continue to jeopardise safe care delivery. The report advises...Read more

Executive Health Management

Work-time-control-enhances-physicians-sleep-and-wellbeing

2015 05 Jan

Physicians' work schedules are an important determinant of their own wellbeing and that of their patients. A new  study published in Applied Ergonomics  aimed to determine whether allowing physicians control over their work hours ameliorates the effects of demanding work schedules. Based on the results, optimising the balance between schedule flexibility...Read more

Pharmacy Management

Using-big-data-to-monitor-drug-safety

2014 16 Dec

According to a new report by researchers at RTI Health Solutions (RTI-HS) and parent company RTI International, while healthcare databases allow greater access to real world medical data, using this data to evaluate the safety of medical products is complex and requires careful research consideration.   The report has been published in Current...Read more

Executive Health Management

Top-us-hospitals-virginia-mason-on-list-for-9th-consecutive-year

2014 10 Dec

Virginia Mason has made The Leapfrog Group's annual list of Top Hospitals in the US for the ninth consecutive year. It is the only hospital in the country to be named a Top Hospital every year since the recognition programme was launched in 2006. In addition, Virginia Mason is the only hospital in Washington state to receive the 2014 Top Hospital award...Read more

IT Management

Can-advanced-emrs-make-patient-care-safer

2014 28 Nov

Patient safety is one of the foremost challenges in US healthcare, affecting hundreds of thousands of patients and costing tens of billions of dollars every year. According to the landmark Institute of Medicine (IOM) report "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System", 44,000 to 98,000 people die each year in US hospitals from preventable medical...Read more

IMAGING Management

Agfa-healthcare-qaelum-agreement-new-dose-monitoring-solution

2014 24 Nov

Agfa HealthCare and Qaelum sign agreement for Dose Monitoring Solution to optimise radiation exposure information across modalities, departments and institutions. The solution supports organisations to manage, analyse and balance their dose management.   Solution provides data on dose at the study, patient, device, modality or institution level....Read more

ICU Management

Anaesthesia-impacts-perioperative-risk-and-outcomes

2014 24 Nov

Anaesthesiologists play a vital role in perioperative care. In recent decades, the risks associated with anaesthetic care have been dramatically reduced. However, anaesthesia takes centre stage among acute healthcare services, and from a patient's perspective, anaesthesia-specific risks cannot be meaningfully isolated from perioperative and peri-interventional...Read more

Executive Health Management

Zoom-on-martin-bromiley-clinical-human-factors-group

2014 13 Oct

Martin Bromiley is the founder of the Clinical Human Factors Group (CHFG), an independent organisation which promotes patient safety by encouraging the exploration and discussion of how human fallibility influences healthcare delivery. Through its advocacy efforts, including a series of open seminars, the CHFG aims to reduce catastrophic errors and...Read more

IT Management

Guideline-inclusive-electronic-ordering-system-reduces-telemetry-overuse

2014 22 Sep

By integrating the American Heart Association’s (AHA’s) guidelines into its electronic ordering system, the Christiana Care Health System, Newark, Del., was able to reduce its use of telemetry (monitoring to detect irregular heartbeats) by 70 percent. According to the AHA recommendations, non-intensive care unit cardiac telemetry patients...Read more

IT Management

Framework-to-assess-medical-app-safety-risks

2014 22 Sep

The use of mobile medical apps by clinicians, patients, and others has grown dramatically since the proliferation of mobile phones and tablet computers. A mobile medical app is defined as any software application created for or used on a mobile device for medical or other health-related purposes. Recent studies show that mobile devices and apps can...Read more

Executive Health Management

Negative-gossip-and-burnout-in-hospitals

2014 15 Sep

Gossip can both hinder and help in a hospital environment. Despite the fact that research indicates that it occurs frequently in healthcare organisations, it has not been studied in relation to other organisational manifestations such as burnout and engagement, or quality of care outcomes. A study recently published in the journal Burnout Research...Read more