Report on improving hospital safety touts improvement, stresses room for more
Hospitals significantly improved the quality of care they provided to patients, but there's plenty of room for improvement, according to a new report from The Joint Commission.
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Electronic Plans for Improvement deadline extended
September 1, 2007, is the new deadline for facilities to convert Life Safety CodeŽ deficiencies into electronic Plans for Improvement (e-PFI), according to the April issue of Joint Commission Perspectives.
The extended deadline is due in large part to the expectation of a new tool that will help organizations import existing information into the e-PFI database. The Joint Commission says it expects this tool to be ready sometime during the third quarter of 2007.
To use the tool, organizations will have to have all data in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The option of manually inputting PFI data still exists and must also be done by September 1. Prior to the extension, organizations were expected to input all data by July 1, 2007.
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New Broselow tape not required by Joint Commission
The recently released 2007A version of the Broselow tape has minimal changes, and no major drug dose changes, according to Elizabeth DiGiacomo-Geffers, RN, MPH, CNAA, BC, a healthcare consultant in Trabuco Canyon, CA.
The revisions, based on American Heart Associations Guidelines for Pediatric Resuscitation, add some atropine drug dose recommendations and endotracheal tube drug recommendations.
However, none of the changes impact National Patient Safety Goal #3B, standardizing drug concentrations and limiting the number of concentrations. The Joint Commission will continue to accept the use of 2005A Broselow tapes unless an organization's policy would require the new materials.
The Broselow tape helps clinicians quickly assess pediatric patients; select medications, doses, and equipment; and monitor patients during resuscitation efforts. It helps estimate a child's weight, determin weight-based drug doses, and select the correct size emergency or resuscitation equipment.
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Mass General considers releasing Joint Commission report
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston might release its final accreditation report once the Joint Commission has completed it, according to the Boston Globe.
MGH President Peter Slavin already released some of the Joint Commission's findings in a memo, calling the report a "wake-up call." The memo says the Joint Commission found employees weren't washing their hands enough, weren't completely filling out medical records, and weren't correctly following medication reconciliation policies.
If the report is released, Slavin says it would help better inform the public about hospitals' pros and cons.
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Compliance with MM.3.20 comes down to following hospital policy for communicating med orders
Accurately communicating medication orders is often a weak spot for hospitals during their Joint Commission surveys. MM.3.20 requires hospitals to reduce the number of errors committed during the communication of a medication order. Like many of the most challenging standards, much of complying with MM.3.20 goes back to ensuring that staff practice hospital policy and also making sure that the policy reflects each element outlined in the standard, says Jodi Eisenberg and Elizabeth Di Giacomo-Geffers.
"The real issue here is policy," Di Giacomo-Geffers says. "You have policies, and then if you revise or write any new policies, you need to educate and decide what the most effective method for educating is at your facility."
In addition, part of complying with this standard depends on whether a facility has started using a computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system. Many of the legibility and handwriting issues become nonexistent when a CPOE system is installed, although a CPOE system brings its own set of problems.
Access the full story in the March issue of Briefings on The Joint Commission; access is free for subscribers, nonsubscribers can sign up for a 30-day free trial of BOJExtra! or purchase a copy of the story for $10 by clicking here.
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