Quality & Patient Safety Newsletters

Briefings on Accreditation and Quality Patient Safety Monitor

Patient Safety Monitor is a searchable, web-based crosswalk that organizes state, CMS, and Joint Commission requirements by topic. It also provides access to news and analysis on dozens of the most challenging patient safety issues via the monthly journal, the tools and templates library, and the weekly e-newsletter.

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Issue 1, December 19, 2017

• NotPetya and ransomware: Six steps to help you beat hackers

  The NotPetya computer hack that hit healthcare facilities last summer is a warning to get creative...

Issue 12, December 1, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Patient handoffs: The gap where mistakes are made

  A patient handoff (also known as transitioning) is both the act of passing a patient between...

• Q&A: The hospital, the law, and the patient

  Controversy flared this fall in Salt Lake City after police body camera footage of the July 26...

• USP deadline on hazardous drug handling postponed until 2019

  The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has announced it intends to push back the compliance...

• Hurting silently: Assessing pain in nonverbal patients

  How patients assess their own pain is a key component to how hospitals are expected to manage pain...

• The route to eliminating hospital-acquired conditions

  Editor’s note: This article was written by Janet Spiegel, MS, a Lean-certified management...

Issue 11, November 1, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Harvey, Irma, and Maria: Questions hospitals need to answer before a hurricane hits

  While the deadline to meet CMS's new emergency preparedness Conditions of Participation (CoP) is...

• Saving blood: The relatively simple task of blood management

  Want to save your bosses some money and improve patient safety? Improve your blood transfusion...

• Treating patients with hearing, vision, and LEP issues

  Review how clinicians and other staff interact with patients who have communication issues, such as...

• Match quality of care with respect when treating LGBTQ patients

  Every facility wants to give the best possible care to every patient who walks through its doors...

Issue 10, October 1, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How to prevent maternal mortality

  Maternal mortality is a measure of how many mothers die from pregnancy-related complications while...

• How to spot suicide and ligature risks in your facility

  The handles on the box springs of patient beds in residential areas. The caulking along the wall of...

• Service animals in the ER

  At a Roaring 20s party this summer, I saw a flapper in a sparkly dress dance with her service dog...

• Study says hospital room floors may need more attention in infection control

  Want to improve your infection control? Consider your hospital floors. A study published in the...

Issue 9, September 1, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Diagnosing human trafficking when a patient is a victim

  Physicians, nurses, and healthcare staff are in a unique position to help the human trafficking...

• Mixing medicine

  No physician or nurse injects medicine into a patient’s blood planning to make the patient...

• Bringing innovation to your facility

  Editor’s note: Healthcare innovation involves doing something differently than how it’s...

• Staff should be alert for mislabeled drugs

  Remind nurses and other clinicians to remain alert for medication errors, including mislabeled...

Issue 8, August 1, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Bit, kicked, and shot

  Can you take a punch? How do you react to being backed into a corner and screamed at? Can you keep...

• The impact of cybersecurity on patient safety

  In the TV show Mr. Robot, there’s a scene where the main character hacks his hospital’s...

• Q&A: CDC town hall addresses preventing Legionella contamination

  On June 2, CMS issued a new memo to surveyors on the importance of reducing cases of Legionella...

• Be prepared for summer patient safety hazards

  Hospital EDs are extremely busy during the summer months because of accidents and injuries. While...

Issue 7, July 1, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How to get readmission rates under control

  To say readmissions are a big deal in medicine is a massive understatement. The Hospital...

• Burned out or under the influence?

  Editor’s note: By the time the general public hears about an impaired clinician, whether...

• CDC updates SSI guideline for the first time in 18 years

  In May 2017, the CDC released its new guideline for surgical site infection (SSI) prevention, the...

• Three keys to preventing workplace violence

   In 2013, more than 70% of the 23,000 significant injuries resulting from workplace assault...

Issue 6, June 1, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Right dose, right drug: WHO challenges hospitals to cut med errors in half

  At the end of March, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced its third global safety...

• You've got harm

  The prevention of avoidable harms has been a goal of healthcare since day one, but it was given...

• Keeping fungi at bay

  In March, The Washington Post ran an alarming story about a new strain of Candida auris (C. auris...

• Q&A: IHI and NPSF merge to push patient safety initiatives

  Editor’s note: In March, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and the National...

Issue 5, May 1, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Innovation in pursuit of high-reliability culture

  The Institute of Medicine sent waves racing across the surface of American healthcare when it...

• ECRI: The rules on copying and pasting medical information

  In 2016, the ECRI Institute’s Partnership for Health IT Patient Safety released its Health IT...

• Bringing universal suicide screening to your hospital

  With suicide rates high and getting higher, hospitals and clinics need to revamp how they work with...

• Q&A: How to respond to the WHO's top 12 superbugs list

  Q&A: How to respond to the WHO’s top 12 superbugs list Editor’s note: In...

Issue 4, April 1, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Study: Postoperative complications are a major concern for hospitals

  A recent study sheds new light on the prevalence of postoperative complications. In November...

• ISMP's targeted medication safety best practices for 2017

  Editor’s note: The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) released its...

• How Palomar Health reduced nuisance IV alarms

  People can grow used to anything, even alarms. Such is the danger of alarm fatigue; when excessive...

• FDA ban on powdered medical gloves now in effect

  The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ban on powdered medical gloves went into effect on...

Issue 2, February 28, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Quick, cheap, and effective: Oral care makes serious dent in hospital-acquired pneumonia cases

  If you work in healthcare, then you’re probably aware that there’s room for...

• Plan staff activities for National Patient Safety Awareness Week

  March 12–18 marks the start of the 2017 National Patient Safety Awareness Week (PSAW). The...

• Q&A: What makes a quality EHR?

  Editor’s note: A 2016 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that for every...

• Looking at the biggest problems with PPE

  The failure of workers to comply with PPE guidance is a perennial issue in healthcare. While PPE...

• What can you really do about readmission rates?

  Editor’s note: Janet Spiegel, MS, is a management consultant who has worked with several...

• Opioids: What do healthcare professionals want and need to know?

  Editor’s note: The following is article first appeared in the April 2016 edition of PSQH, and...

Issue 1, January 31, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Patient satisfaction vs. quality: The whys, hows, pros, and cons

  There’s been a flood of different measures and metrics in recent years. CMS, Joint...

• USP <800>: Protecting healthcare workers from hazardous drugs

  Editor's note: Since this story came out, USP has pushed back the deadline for Chapter...

• Q&A: The benefits of patient engagement

  Editor’s note: The following is a lightly edited Q&A with Craig Deao, MHA, senior leader...

• PSMJ 2016 index

  It was a long year of big changes; some unexpected, some you saw coming miles away. To help you...