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Imagine a scenario in which a patient dies from a medication error and then things just go downhill from there. As things get worse, the only good thing is that youre bound to learn something useful from the experience.
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A recent incident in which a surgeon allegedly arrived drunk for a procedure illustrates an important lesson about how broadly risk managers should educate staff about the concept of patient safety, says one expert.
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All the hospitals where infant abductions have occurred identified unmonitored elevator or stairwell access to the postpartum and nursery areas as a root cause, according to information from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
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The labor and delivery department may be where the risk of infant abductions is greatest, but it is far from the only area of the hospital needing a risk managers attention. Children are often taken from other areas of the hospital that may not receive as much attention.
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Have you made your labor and delivery unit a veritable fortress with high-tech equipment and strict policies to prevent infant abductions, while leaving the back door wide open? Children in the pediatrics unit can be just as vulnerable as infants, experts say, but risk managers too often put all their focus on protecting the newborns while devoting relatively few resources to other young patients.
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A nonpunitive policy on investigating errors yields better results, especially if you couple it with an amnesty period that promises employees can confess their mistakes without threat of punishment, says Elaine Shaw, director of quality resources at Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, IN.
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This is the second article in a two-part series on preventing employees from harming patients intentionally. This month, well give step-by-step instructions to prevent problem employees from being hired and tips to encourage staff to report concerns.
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To do your own comparative analysis to prepare for Joint Commission surveys, youll need to obtain risk-adjusted Medpar data, says Patti Muller Smith, RN, EdD, a consultant for Shawnee, OK-based Administrative Consulting Services.
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Since surveyors from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations will come to your organization armed with detailed information on how you compare to other facilities, why not be proactive and do your own comparative analysis?
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Are you worried about your organizations ability to pass muster with the Shared Visions New Pathways survey process from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations? If so, its the moment of truth.
