Just culture creates a safe, positive environment
Just culture has become a bit of a buzzword, so it’s worth revisiting what the term truly means and how it can be implemented and sustained. Although it’s a powerful tool for improving patient safety, just culture is effective only when leaders set expectations for processes and behavior, and address…
Latest steam sterilization standard available from AAMI
The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) in September released the newest version of the ANSI/AAMI ST 79 Comprehensive Guide to Steam Sterilization and Sterility Assurance in Healthcare Facilities. This document, last updated in 2013, has been under a major review for changes in the format presentation and…
Violence in healthcare facilities--Know your risks
Violence is much more common in healthcare than in other industries, and although many violent events in healthcare are perpetrated by patients, a notable percentage are not. Individuals other than patients who may cause violence in healthcare settings include family members of patients and other visitors, employees, and criminals. Many…
Peer review inspires high performance from providers
Peer review is a hot topic in the quality arena as many ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) strive to create meaningful and sustainable evaluation of their providers. “As a surveyor, I can tell you peer review trips everybody up,” says Ann Geier, MS, RN, CNOR, CASC, chief nursing officer of Surgical…
Landmark study may affect stroke treatment guidelines
Editor's Note Guidelines for stroke treatment currently recommend clot removal within 6 hours of onset. However, a new study led by researchers from Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, finds that clot removal up to 24 hours leads to significantly reduced disability. This international multi-center study randomly assigned 206 stroke…
Joint Commission: More accredited hospitals submitting eCQM data
Editor's Note Despite the expansion of requirements for electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) reporting to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an increased number of Joint Commission accredited hospitals are adopting and reporting eCQMs to drive quality improvement, the Joint Commission reports. In 2016, 470 accredited hospitals submitted eCQM…
Perioperative Nurse Week is November 12 to 18
Editor's Note Every year, Perioperative Nurse Week focuses attention on the work of more than 160,000 nurses who advocate for surgical patients. During the week, perioperative nurses are honored by colleagues and communities to highlight the ways in which nurses are working to improve patient safety−before, during, and after…
Medicare readmission reduction program linked to increased mortality rates
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program has had the unintended consequence of increased short- and long-term mortality in heart failure patients, this study finds. Five years ago, as part of the Affordable Care Act, federal policy makers introduced the Hospital Readmission Reduction…
Nurse-run telephone triage service for after-hour calls by neurosurgery patients
Editor's Note Clinical Advice Service (CAS), a nurse-run telephone triage service for after-hour calls, developed at the Stanford University School of Medicine, provides well-coordinated care to neurosurgery patients while reducing physician workload, this study finds. Between July 2016 and June 2017, CAS nurses received 1,021 after-hours calls from neurosurgery patients.…
Joint Commission updates Patient Blood Management standards
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on November 8 announced the update of its Patient Blood Management standards to align with AABB standards. Among the changes: educational requirements for those who order and/or transfuse blood defined guidelines on transfusion orders procedures for emergent/urgent patients, including massive blood loss intraoperative methods for…