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, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• 2009 Leadership standards tell hospital leaders to make patient safety a priority

  Beginning in a few short weeks, The Joint Commission is going to expect hospital leaders at...

• Taking responsibility for building accountability among staff members

  Managers know that having accountable staff members is vitally important to providing excellent...

• Work stress and its effect on a professional environment

  Work stress is reported to be a contributor in 49% of medication errors. Approximately 69% of...

• Minnesota develops rules for preventing surgical errors

  When Minnesota’s hospitals outwardly recognized in 2007 that the state’s process for...

Issue 11, November 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Infection control-related NPSG not new to field

  Part of Goal #7 of The Joint Commission’s 2009 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) includes...

• WalkRounds involve senior leaders with frontline staff

  If staff members in your facility think their concerns are not being heard or taken seriously by...

• Early warning system to be surveyed in January

  For those facilities watching the clock wind down on the implementation year given by The Joint...

• Family-activated RRTs stress involvement

  Hospitals are rolling out family-activated rapid response teams (RRT) in conjunction with the...

Issue 10, October 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Latest Sentinel Event Alert exposes disruptive behavior among staff members

  The Joint Commission’s July 9 Sentinel Event Alert concerning disruptive behavior among...

• Pennsylvania association promotes standardized wristbands to prevent errors

  Red, green, yellow, purple, and pink—these are the colors of one wristband color system...

• Three keys to ensuring your anticoagulant therapy program is ready

  The Joint Commission is set to survey hospitals’ anticoagulant therapy programs in January...

• The fundamentals of accountability

  Accountability issues can arise with individuals, groups, and departments. Accountability can also...

Issue 9, September 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• California hospital team takes aim on VTE

  Patients with venous thromboembolism, which includes deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism...

• Increased documentation added to 2009 NPSGs

  With the release of the 2009 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) came some cumbersome...

• Evolving titles in patient safety: Medication safety officer

  Keeping medications safe is not a new concept for most hospitals. The Institute of Medicine report...

Issue 8, August 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• The Joint Commission releases 2009 National Patient Safety Goals

  The Joint Commission's 2009 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG), which were released in June...

• Patient safety Q&A

  Editor's note: The following is a column answering some recent questions from "Patient Safety...

• Building a culture of safety into your patient safety plan

  Editor's Note: The following excerpt is from the new HCPro book, The Patient Safety Officer's...

• Distractive environments: Mitigating complacency

  Editor's note: The following is part of a series about human error and its role in medical error...

• Experts urge hospitals to identify disparities in healthcare

  A new report released by The Joint Commission calls on hospitals to improve patient care by...

Issue 7, July 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Patient safety Q&A

  Editor's note: The following is a column answering some recent questions on "Patient Safety Talk...

• Positive deviance technique used to lower MRSA rates

  According to Merriam-Webster Online, the definition of deviant describes someone or something as...

• Designing a successful medication reconciliation process

  Editor's note: The following excerpt is from the new HCPro, Inc., book Medication Reconciliation...

• Restraint and seclusion: Not many new changes, only added nuances

  Editor's note: For a related staff trainer, check out the quiz about restraint and seclusion on p...

Issue 6, June 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• The second victim: Supporting staff members after a medical error

  It has been almost a decade since Linda Kenney went into surgery to have her ankle replaced and...

• Proposed changes to Universal Protocol make goal more specific, add documentation requirements

  Editor's note: This is the second in a series about The Joint Commission's proposed 2009 National...

• The effects of distractions on human performance

  Editor's note: The following is part of a series about human error and its role in medical error...

Issue 5, May 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• HHS proposes patient safety organizations

  Since the passage of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005, hospitals around the...

• Program focuses on most difficult transition: Going home

  Most hospitals have addressed the transition of patients from one hospital setting to another...

• In-field supervision can reduce error rates

  Editor's note: The following is part of an ongoing series about human error and its role in medical...

Issue 4, April 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Transparency, job satisfaction among topics at Leape roundtables

  The need for healthcare transparency and job satisfaction were among the topics discussed as part...

• Joint Commission proposes many changes to Goal #7 for 2009

  Editor's note: This is the first in a series of articles about The Joint Commission's proposed 2009...

• The supervisor's role in reducing human error

  Editor's note: The following is part of an ongoing series about human error and its role in medical...

• 'Leaps' to safety include public reporting

  Computerized physician order entry (CPOE), intensivists, and evidence-based hospital referrals are...

Issue 3, March 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Perfecting stroke care through certification

  Editor's note: Check out a related story about anticoagulant therapy on p. 8 and a stroke...

• Changing the view on health literacy

  Cezanne Garcia, MPH, likes to recall an anecdote from one of her patient advisors to illustrate why...

• The supervisor's role in lowering human error

  Editor's note: The following article is the fifth in a series about human error and its role in...

• Patient Safety Q&A

  The following is a column answering some of the most debated questions on "Patient Safety Talk," an...

Issue 2, February 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Moving forward with medication reconciliation

  Medication reconciliation, arguably one of the tougher standards The Joint Commission (formerly...

• Family activation: The next generation of rapid response

  Implementing a rapid response team (RRT) requires an understanding among staff members that putting...

• Contributors to human error and how to lower rates of committing error

  Editor's note: The following is the fourth in a series about human error and its role in medical...

Issue 1, January 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Practice makes perfect

  Almost 13 years ago, University Community Hospital (UCH) in Tampa, FL, was under a huge amount of...

• The cost and truths of human error

  Editor's note: The following is the third in an occasional series about human error and its role in...

• Keeping kids safe

  At Brownwood (TX) Regional Medical Center (BRMC), staff members use new, cost-effective techniques...