Patient Safety Monitor

Briefings on Patient Safety

As part of your Patient Safety Monitor membership, you'll receive Briefings on Patient Safety. In this 12-page monthly newsletter, discover the regulatory news, best practices, and staff training ideas you need to successfully create a culture of patient safety in your facility. Don't miss another issue. Become a member of Patient Safety Monitor today!

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Issue 12, December 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• 2009 Leadership standards tell hospital leaders to make patient safety a priority

  Beginning in a few short weeks, The Joint Commission is going to expect hospital leaders at...

• Taking responsibility for building accountability among staff members

  Managers know that having accountable staff members is vitally important to providing excellent...

• Work stress and its effect on a professional environment

  Work stress is reported to be a contributor in 49% of medication errors. Approximately 69% of...

• Minnesota develops rules for preventing surgical errors

  When Minnesota’s hospitals outwardly recognized in 2007 that the state’s process for...

Issue 11, November 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Infection control-related NPSG not new to field

  Part of Goal #7 of The Joint Commission’s 2009 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) includes...

• WalkRounds involve senior leaders with frontline staff

  If staff members in your facility think their concerns are not being heard or taken seriously by...

• Early warning system to be surveyed in January

  For those facilities watching the clock wind down on the implementation year given by The Joint...

• Family-activated RRTs stress involvement

  Hospitals are rolling out family-activated rapid response teams (RRT) in conjunction with the...

Issue 10, October 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Latest Sentinel Event Alert exposes disruptive behavior among staff members

  The Joint Commission’s July 9 Sentinel Event Alert concerning disruptive behavior among...

• Three keys to ensuring your anticoagulant therapy program is ready

  The Joint Commission is set to survey hospitals’ anticoagulant therapy programs in January...

• Pennsylvania association promotes standardized wristbands to prevent errors

  Red, green, yellow, purple, and pink—these are the colors of one wristband color system...

• The fundamentals of accountability

  Accountability issues can arise with individuals, groups, and departments. Accountability can also...

Issue 9, September 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• California hospital team takes aim on VTE

  Patients with venous thromboembolism, which includes deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism...

• Increased documentation added to 2009 NPSGs

  With the release of the 2009 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) came some cumbersome...

• Evolving titles in patient safety: Medication safety officer

  Keeping medications safe is not a new concept for most hospitals. The Institute of Medicine report...

Issue 8, August 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• The Joint Commission releases 2009 National Patient Safety Goals

  The Joint Commission's 2009 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG), which were released in June...

• Patient safety Q&A

  Editor's note: The following is a column answering some recent questions from "Patient Safety...

• Building a culture of safety into your patient safety plan

  Editor's Note: The following excerpt is from the new HCPro book, The Patient Safety Officer's...

• Distractive environments: Mitigating complacency

  Editor's note: The following is part of a series about human error and its role in medical error...

• Experts urge hospitals to identify disparities in healthcare

  A new report released by The Joint Commission calls on hospitals to improve patient care by...

Issue 7, July 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Patient safety Q&A

  Editor's note: The following is a column answering some recent questions on "Patient Safety Talk...

• Positive deviance technique used to lower MRSA rates

  According to Merriam-Webster Online, the definition of deviant describes someone or something as...

• Designing a successful medication reconciliation process

  Editor's note: The following excerpt is from the new HCPro, Inc., book Medication Reconciliation...

• Restraint and seclusion: Not many new changes, only added nuances

  Editor's note: For a related staff trainer, check out the quiz about restraint and seclusion on p...

Issue 6, June 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• The second victim: Supporting staff members after a medical error

  It has been almost a decade since Linda Kenney went into surgery to have her ankle replaced and...

• Proposed changes to Universal Protocol make goal more specific, add documentation requirements

  Editor's note: This is the second in a series about The Joint Commission's proposed 2009 National...

• The effects of distractions on human performance

  Editor's note: The following is part of a series about human error and its role in medical error...

Issue 5, May 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• HHS proposes patient safety organizations

  Since the passage of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005, hospitals around the...

• Program focuses on most difficult transition: Going home

  Most hospitals have addressed the transition of patients from one hospital setting to another...

• In-field supervision can reduce error rates

  Editor's note: The following is part of an ongoing series about human error and its role in medical...

Issue 4, April 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Transparency, job satisfaction among topics at Leape roundtables

  The need for healthcare transparency and job satisfaction were among the topics discussed as part...

• Joint Commission proposes many changes to Goal #7 for 2009

  Editor's note: This is the first in a series of articles about The Joint Commission's proposed 2009...

• The supervisor's role in reducing human error

  Editor's note: The following is part of an ongoing series about human error and its role in medical...

• 'Leaps' to safety include public reporting

  Computerized physician order entry (CPOE), intensivists, and evidence-based hospital referrals are...

Issue 3, March 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Perfecting stroke care through certification

  Editor's note: Check out a related story about anticoagulant therapy on p. 8 and a stroke...

• Changing the view on health literacy

  Cezanne Garcia, MPH, likes to recall an anecdote from one of her patient advisors to illustrate why...

• The supervisor's role in lowering human error

  Editor's note: The following article is the fifth in a series about human error and its role in...

• Patient Safety Q&A

  The following is a column answering some of the most debated questions on "Patient Safety Talk," an...

Issue 2, February 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Moving forward with medication reconciliation

  Medication reconciliation, arguably one of the tougher standards The Joint Commission (formerly...

• Family activation: The next generation of rapid response

  Implementing a rapid response team (RRT) requires an understanding among staff members that putting...

• Contributors to human error and how to lower rates of committing error

  Editor's note: The following is the fourth in a series about human error and its role in medical...

Issue 1, January 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Practice makes perfect

  Almost 13 years ago, University Community Hospital (UCH) in Tampa, FL, was under a huge amount of...

• The cost and truths of human error

  Editor's note: The following is the third in an occasional series about human error and its role in...

• Keeping kids safe

  At Brownwood (TX) Regional Medical Center (BRMC), staff members use new, cost-effective techniques...