Hospital Peer Review 2012-12-01

Getting nurses to use evidence-based practice takes culture change

If trends hold in 2012, it will be the 13th straight year that nurses top the Gallup poll on ethics and honesty (http://www.gallup.com/poll/151460/Record-Rate-Honesty-Ethics-Members-Congress-Low.aspx). They are widely viewed by the public as being trustworthy and caring about what they do. Indeed, no one would suggest that a nurse does anything on the job that would knowingly imperil patients.

Nothing new doesn't mean nothing important

The 2013 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) came out last month and did not really include any big surprises. Indeed, there was nothing new in them. But that doesn't mean you do not have to pay attention to them.

Creative efforts drive goals home

No one ever says "as memorable as a PowerPoint slide," do they? Or "as much fun as a white paper." If you want people to remember something important, you have to spark their interest. And when the material is as dry as patient safety goals, well, you have your work cut out for you.

Call to Action wants more reporting

The list of organizations that participated in the recent National Association for Healthcare Quality's "Call to Action" gives you an idea of how important people from various parts of the healthcare world think the topics addressed in the report are.

Sentinel event data show little change

Given the lack of reporting of errors and potential errors, it should be seen as good news that the number of sentinel events reported to The Joint Commission has gone up, right? The organization figures that voluntary reporting brings it maybe 1% of the total of what's out there, but the numbers are steadily rising.

The grass isn't always greener

Editor's Note: Last month, Hospital Peer Review looked at some of the differences between the two largest hospital accreditation organizations, The Joint Commission (TJC) and DNV, and asked several DNV clients to talk about what made them choose DNV. This month, we look at some organizations that thought about leaving TJC and either came back after trying out DNV, or changed their minds. What brought them back?

Hospital Peer Review – December 1, 2012

December 1, 2012