Patient Safety

Surgical Site Marker Tips Don’t Increase Infection Risk

There’s a bit of good news coming out of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta for patients undergoing surgery or an invasive procedure, their surgeons and cost-conscious hospital administrators. It's standard practice for the surgeon or ...More
October 21, 2008
Posted in News
Science-Based Strategies Take Aim at HAIs

For the first time, five healthcare leaders have collaborated to publish science-based strategies in a new compendium to help prevent the six most important healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The work is called the Compendium of Strategies to Prevent ...More
October 8, 2008
Posted in News
Michigan Success Lands National Research Contract to Reduce Hospital-Associated Infections in 10 States

LANSING, Mich. -- The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announces a three-year, $3 million national effort to reduce patients' risk of hospital-associated infections in intensive care units (ICUs).This first-of-its-kind project is modeled after the ...More
October 7, 2008
Posted in News
Medical Devices Pose Big Infection Threat

Healthcare workers have long been trying to prevent infections related to medical devices, but must try even harder as of Oct. 1, 2008, when regulations from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) go into effect. As a result, hospitals will no longer ...More
August 28, 2008
Posted in Articles
Medline Launches Prevention Campaign and Grant Program to Support Solutions for Hospital-Acquired Conditions

MUNDELEIN, Ill. — Medline Industries, Inc. announced today a new prevention campaign targeting six hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) and the creation of a $1 million research grant program to support the adoption of evidence-based solutions in healthcare ...More
August 18, 2008
Posted in News, Hand Hygiene
CMS Adds SSIs to List of “Do-Not-Pay” Conditions

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it is taking several actions to improve the quality of care in hospitals and reduce the number of “never events,” peventable medical errors that result in serious consequences for the ...More
August 8, 2008
Posted in News
Ensuring Equipment Cleanliness: Don't Take Shortcuts

A patient, dehydrated and needing fluids STAT, enters the emergency department. But wait, there are no IV pumps. The central sterile department (CSD) is paged, the call is returned to the ER, and an infusion pump is requested. The CSD responds with the dreaded answer, ...More
June 30, 2008
Posted in Articles, Disinfection & Sterilization, Environmental Hygiene, PPE & Standard Precautions
Medical Device Innovation is Vital to Patient Safety

One out of every 20 hospital patients contracts a hospital-acquired infection (HAI) during their stay, resulting in approximately 2 million infections and 90,000 deaths each year, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — a mortality rate greater ...More
June 30, 2008
Posted in Articles
Study Identifies Infection, Sepsis Among Most Costly Adverse Events in Children's Hospitals

A large study of health records from 38 American children’s hospitals has measured adverse events that most increase length of stay and overall cost. The researchers say their findings provide useful targets for hospital programs aimed at preventing harm to young ...More
June 2, 2008
Posted in News
Sepsis Educational Program Results in Death Rate Decline

A national educational effort in Spain to promote appropriate care for severe sepsis and septic shock was associated with a lower rate of sepsis deaths in hospitals and improved guideline adherence, although the improvement in compliance with some resuscitation procedures ...More
May 27, 2008
Posted in News