• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Upcoming JCAHO surveys to include patient safety interview Airport detector finds four-month-old surgical tool in woman's stomach Report: Meeting benchmarks could save nearly 57,000 patients annually

Patient Safety Monitor Alert, January 8, 2003

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Patient Safety Monitor Alert!

UPCOMING JCAHO SURVEYS TO INCLUDE PATIENT SAFETY INTERVIEW

Patient safety staff who hope surveyors won't ask them questions may have to overcome their shyness come survey time. A patient safety and medication management interview will replace the patient care interview, Joint Commission officials announced during the annual surveyor conference held in Chicago this week. (The date at which the change will take effect is not yet known.) All three surveyors will conduct the interview in larger hospitals, though the job will fall to just one surveyor in smaller ones, according to an observer. Other patient safety-related survey changes include the following:

- A focus on infection control. (For instance, the next sentinel event alert will focus on nosocomial infection death, according to the source.)
- A requirement that hospitals look at evidence-based practices when they're improving systems.
- Root cause analyses (RCA) changes, which include a new definition of rape (still in the works), a requirement to perform an RCA for "death or recognized complications," and the new qualification of an unanticipated infant death as a "reportable sentinel event," subject to an RCA.

Briefings on Patient Safety, a print sister publication of Patient Safety Monitor, will publish more information on the changes when it becomes available. Go to www.hcmarketplace.com for more information on Briefings on Patient Safety.

AIRPORT DETECTOR FINDS FOUR-MONTH-OLD SURGICAL TOOL IN WOMAN'S STOMACH

When a Canadian woman set a Regina, Saskatchewan airport security alarm off after walking through the metal detector, guards were unable to find any metal on her body. But several days later, an x-ray revealed that there was metal--inside her body. Four months earlier, an 11.7-inch long surgical retractor had been left in her stomach after her surgery at Regina General Hospital, according to Reuters.

The tool was removed the day after the x-ray. Though reports indicated that the woman had complained of post-operative pain, doctors were unable to diagnose the problem, according to a related article in the National Post.

The woman is seeking compensation from both the surgeon and the hospital, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported, according to Reuters.

REPORT: MEETING BENCHMARKS COULD SAVE NEARLY 57,000 PATIENTS ANNUALLY

Nearly 57,000 more patients could be saved if all acute care hospitals in the U.S. measured up to the top hospitals in the nation, a new report estimates. It could also save the industry more than $9 billion dollars annually.

Patients of hospitals profiled in Solucient's ninth 100 Top Hospitals National Benchmarks for Success had approximately 18% fewer medical complications than patients in other hospitals, according to a recent press release from Solucient. Other characteristics of the top hospitals include

- admitting an average of 16% more patients than other hospitals
- maintaining a higher patient case mix - employing fewer staff, but paying them more
- having, overall, twice the profit margins of other hospitals (though the repot notes that outpatient revenue is lower than that of other hospitals)

To determine the top hospitals, Solucient analyzed performance data from 1999 and 2000, including Medicare cost reports and MEDPAR data. It scored facilities according to measures that include risk-adjusted mortality, risk-adjusted complications, average length of stay, expenses, profitability, percent of outpatient revenue, total asset turnover, and data quality. Go to www.100tophospitals.com to find a list of winning hospitals or purchase a copy of the report.

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Patient Safety Monitor Alert!

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive