Patient Safety Monitor

Patient Safety Monitor Journal answers your most important patient safety questions and offers field-tested compliance strategies to ensure your patient safety efforts measure up to The Joint Commission.

• Above and beyond ­traditional error reporting

  As the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, medical errors just don't seem to be going away. Many healthcare professionals agree that reporting such errors is the only way to learn from them and prevent them in the future. But although most medical centers have systems in place for staff to report errors, oftentimes these systems can be difficult, cumbersome, and seemingly void of any real, noticeable results. Inertia and a sense of "why bother?" sets in, further concealing the flawed systems and their lack of a streamlined way to ensure that the causes of identified ­errors are fixed or improved.

• Patient outcomes unaffected by pay-for-performance program

  Value-based purchasing (VBP) has long been on the minds of many healthcare professionals. Slowly but surely, VBP has embedded itself in healthcare, including, of course, Medicare reimbursement.

• Low rate of hand hygiene compliance with glove use

  Most hospitals have created some sort of campaign to raise levels of hand hygiene compliance-from creating signs and uploading sing-along viral videos to deploying "secret shoppers" around the nation to sneakily observe who may or may not be washing their hands.

• CDC releases infection prevention plan for oncology clinics

  Oncology clinics traditionally house some of the most vulnerable patients when it comes to contracting dangerous infections, further compounding the already debilitating effects of cancer treatments like chemotherapy. Because of this, it's doubly important that oncology clinics have a plan in place to protect their patient population.

• Understanding HIT nationally and on the local front lines
  Understanding HIT nationally and on the local front lines

  In the past couple of months, there have been numerous publications around health information technology (HIT) and patient safety. In November 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its report, Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Care. Right on its heels, the ECRI Institute released its top 10 list of technologies1 posing hazards to healthcare delivery. The list exposed dangerous medical devices and other technology systems. It was inclusive of everything from surgical fires to radiation therapy exposure risks. Through these reports and a variety of other publications in recent months, one of the primary take-home messages is clear: It is exceedingly difficult to prioritize where attention should be focused given the breadth and scope of HIT and its potential effects on patient safety and care delivery.

Weekly Alerts

This e-mail newsletter provides surveillance on patient safety-related standards and regulations, as well the latest breaking patient safety news.

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Patient Safety Monitor Blog

The Patient Safety Monitor Blog provides readers with an online forum for all things patient safety. Get up-to-date news, network with your peers about best practices, and share your opinions.

• Providence-based play tackles medical errors
• Understanding HIT nationally and on the local front lines
• Visitation rights and restrictions

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Tools Library

The Patient Safety Monitor Tools Library is a comprehensive collection of sample forms and policies. Search through our downloadable and customizable templates to find what you need, when you need it.

• Tips for Improving Your Reporting
• Sample Quality Management Plan
• Patient Education Coordinator Job Description
• Self-assessment questions to evaluate occurrence reporting