Quality & Patient Safety Newsletters

Briefings on Infection Control Briefings on The Joint Commission Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety)

As part of your Patient Safety Monitor membership, you'll receive Briefings on Patient Safety. In this 12-page monthly newsletter, discover the regulatory news, best practices, and staff training ideas you need to successfully create a culture of patient safety in your facility. Don't miss another issue. Become a member of Patient Safety Monitor today!

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Patient Safety Monitor (Briefings on Patient Safety)

Issue 12, December 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Three ways to reduce errors with blood transfusions

  About 20 patients in the United States will die in 2005 from receiving a blood transfusion meant...

• Straight from the surveyor: Tips for NPSG compliance

  Staff use prohibited abbreviations and fail to perform verbal order read-backs too often for the...

• Wake up call: Heed these tips to prevent anesthesia-related errors

  The JCAHO's latest Sentinel Event Alert reminds clinicians to use caution when sedating patients...

• Patient safety dominated during a surprise visit from CMS

  Patient safety dominated a surprise CMS survey recently when surveyors combed Marshalltown (IA...

Issue 11, November 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Get in gear: Six road-tested ways to communicate critical test results

  Develop a short list of critical values that require immediate communication with physicians in...

• Don't let OR safety go up in smoke

  Surely you've heard of "big tent" politics, but how about big tent fire safety? Surgical staff at a...

• Try a round of 'JCAHO Jeopardee' to score staff's patient safety savvy

  Consider using interactive games as one way to help familiarize staff with the 2005 National...

• Chicago hospital is right on the money during JCAHO survey

  "If I gave you a blank check to improve your department, what would you spend it on?" All three...

Issue 10, October 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Three ways to reconcile medications

  Not sure where to begin when it comes to meeting the JCAHO's new National Patient Safety Goal on...

• Avoid these common obstacles to decrease your patient fall rate

  Complacent staff are your toughest obstacle when complying with the JCAHO's new 2005 Patient Safety...

• How to verify critical test results

  Editor's note: The following policy was adapted from the new HCPro book, The Top 30 Patient Safety...

Issue 9, September 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How Congressional criticism of JCAHO will affect your next survey

  Expect JCAHO surveyors to look more closely at your infection control, quality assurance...

• Ten ways to comply with the 2005 National Patient Safety Goals

  By now you've heard about the JCAHO's new National Patient Safety Goals for 2005, but do you know...

• How to disagree with a surveyor's finding

  If you disagree with a surveyor's finding, call the JCAHO immediately to contest it, advises one...

• Physicians are make-it or break-it role models

  Medical students and junior medical staff can teach physicians a thing or two when it comes to...

Issue 8, August 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Pay it forward: A 'fine' way for docs to comply with abbreviations goal

  Stumped on how to get physicians to stop using prohibited abbreviations? Try slapping them below...

• Simplicity helps hospital handle drug, product recalls

  Don't overlook product and drug recalls as critical patient safety concerns. Use a simple...

• How does your patient safety plan stack up to this prototype?

  It may only be the beginning of August, but many patient safety officers are already planning their...

• How do you monitor goals compliance? Enquiring surveyors want to know

  Prepare to show surveyors exactly how you monitor staff compliance with the JCAHO's National...

Issue 7, July 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Two creative ways to involve leaders in patient safety

  Looking for new ways to involve leaders in your patient safety efforts? Don't rule out humor and...

• Four ways to measure your safety culture

  Book excerpt: Culture is the shared beliefs and accepted behaviors or norms of a group. Corporate...

• Best practice: Games and mock surveys were key to hospital's JCAHO survey prep

  Careful, comprehensive preparation paid off for one Texas hospital during its triennial survey...

Issue 6, June 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Watch these six OR safety hot spots

  Don't allow important patient safety precautions to fall by the wayside as your facility rushes to...

• Put muddy blanket orders through the wash to improve communication

  Communication is critical when writing orders to reinstate a patient's medication. Having a...

• The proposed 2005 National Patient Safety Goals could mean big challenges

  Compliance with the JCAHO's proposed 2005 National Patient Safety Goals could be one of the bigger...

Issue 5, May 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Staff intimidation and verbal abuse can trigger medical errors

  When the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) surveyed 2,000 nurses, pharmacists, and...

• Improve patient safety with supermarket-style bar codes

  The JCAHO's National Patient Safety Goal #1 requires you to improve the accuracy of patient...

• Recurring JCAHO survey themes in 2004: Abbreviations, documentation, and data

  Two surveys in different parts of the country revealed common themes in the JCAHO's new Shared...

• The JCAHO to clamp down on patient falls in 2005

  Take a hard look at patients' risk for falling and get ready to create a comprehensive...

• PA pharmacy goes back in time to control narcotics

  Pharmacists in the operating room (OR) helped one Pennsylvania hospital reduce narcotic...

Issue 4, April 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Hospitals call on safety coaches to draw game plan for compliance

  Consider appointing patient-safety coaches on every unit to help staff comply with your...

• JCAHO survey turns spotlight on ID and medication management

  Expect the unexpected. That's the bare-bones advice from your peers who have been surveyed under...

• How one hospital improved blood-transfusion safety

  Blood-transfusion errors are among the top 10 sentinel events that have occurred at accredited...

Issue 3, March 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Blast off: How to turn 'boring' Patient Safety Goals into fun games

  First in a series: Staff involvement March is a big month for patient safety coordinators. For the...

• JCAHO's Universal Protocol uses double-checks to eliminate errors

  Build a series of double-checks into your preparation process for surgical and other invasive...

• Verbal orders and proper equipment were focus of two surveys

  Documentation came under the microscope during two recent surveys by the JCAHO. At one...

Issue 2, February 27, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Support physicians after an adverse event to boost confidence, safety

  It seemed like any other day at the office when in November 1999 Frederick van Pelt MD, MBA, staff...

• Taking the hard-line approach against dangerous abbreviations

  Take a firm stand against staff who continue to use unapproved abbreviations, or you'll face...

• Measuring the effectiveness of patient safety information

  Do patient actually read the patient education material that your hospital provides to them? How...

• JCAHO expects you to take a hard-line approach against dangerous abbreviations

  Take a firm stand against staff who continue to use unapproved abbreviations, or you'll face...

Issue 1, January 8, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Nursing conditions are endangering patient safety, says IOM

  Build more trust between nursing staff and managers and strive to achieve greater representation of...

• Six steps for building a better employee survey tool

  There is an old expression about preoccupied surgeons. After mistakenly asking for the wrong...

• Six steps to a better employee survey

  Six steps to a better employee survey

Issue 7, August 1, 2004

• See how AMI care path boosts hospital's quality outcomes

  "Variation is the enemy" was the mantra of staff at Gundersen Lutheran Heart Institute when they...