Educational accreditation

The process of certification of Healthcare Personnel Services consists mainly of three key elements: Compliance with the standards of health care personnel services and elements of performance. The upper number of a proportion (fraction) is the numerator and the lower number is the denominator. The denominator is the total population or opportunities and the numerator is the number that complies. The Joint Commission standards The standards of the Joint Commission are the basis of an objective…

Introduction When we talk about “Never Events” in medicine, we are referring to a list of errors or adverse events that should never happen to a patient while in the care of a hospital or physician. Some examples are wrong site surgery, mismatched blood transfusion, or hospital acquired pressure ulcers. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) defines Never Events as “serious, preventable and costly medical errors”. Never Events and “Serious Reportable Events” share the same meaning…

Nursing: In Safe Hands One thing that is continuously spoken about in school and in clinical rotations is patient safety. The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education has created ten Core Competencies for the nurse of the future. “In the model, nursing knowledge has been placed at the core to represent how nursing knowledge in its totality reflects the overarching art and science of the nursing profession and discipline” (Massachusettes Department of Higher Education, 2010). Knowledge…

The joint commission inspected the Community memorial hospital to evaluate if the standards of quality were met or not. Accordingly what was discovered was that the staff specifically the nurses were not reporting medication errors either not on time or not even done at all. Frances Ballentine RN, MSN, VP for Nursing Services at this hospital assigned by the CEO to fix the problem and the problems resulting from not completing these necessary regulatory forms. She was given a six month period to…

Background Information A literature review of patient handoff, and communication gaps of patient information during intrahospital patient transfers. The communication of complete and accurate patient information can be challenged, because of increasingly fast-paced and complex health care environments. Patient Handoff refers to, the process of transferring primary authority and responsibility for providing clinical care to a patient from one departing caregiver to one oncoming caregiver.…

Introduction Medical errors and unexpected side effects occur relatively often in the hospital setting, where in 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that medical errors resulted in roughly 98,000 deaths per year, becoming the eighth leading cause of death for patients (Phillips-Bute, 2012). While this number is very alarming, the amount of public concern toward medical errors are nearly nonexistent, resulting in patients having little understanding of their rights when their health…

Medical Errors Despite our greatest efforts to prevent medical errors, errors continue to occur. The most serious of these errors result in death, permanent injury or non-permanent harm that is at a severity level which requires an intervention in order to sustain the individuals life (Joint Commission, 2014, p. 1). Events of this severity are referred to as “sentinel events” since they signal the necessity for instant investigation and response (Joint Commission, 2014, p. 1). Among the…

The patient fall and injury prevention continues to be a challenge for the healthcare field today. It is the one of the major safety issues in the healthcare facilities. The Joint Commission (2011) requires reducing the risk of patient harm resulting from falls as one of the National Patient Safety Goals (Joint Commission, 2011). The call bell is one of the most important and essential features, which is also often used to create frustration to the hospital staff (health leaders, 2007).…

Children’s of Alabama has medication precautions, fall risk precautions, and a “Do Not Use” list in place to protect patients. SBAR is used to effectively communicate patient and nursing needs to physicians. Pharmacy and the nursing staff verify medications before the medication is ever administrated to patients, to reduce errors. Call-lights are in place for patients to alert employees to wants and needs. Nursing Informatics help implement and educate employees on electronic charting.…

How to Prevent Medication Errors There are several ways to avoid medication errors in the healthcare setting. Common mistakes made when giving out medications include disorganization, miscommunication among hospital staff and careless errors. In the following paragraphs I will explain in detail how to avoid medication errors and the importance of excellent communication and interpersonal skills among nurses and patients. I will also clarify the reasons for common mistakes made in the hospital…