Patient/Worker Safety

The safety and protection of patients and healthcare workers alike can be protected by following evidence-based principles and practices designed to prevent adverse events, medical errors and infections. Aseptic technique, hand hygiene, environmental hygiene, proper disinfection and sterilization and other interventions are designed to prevent or curtail events that results in excessive healthcare costs, increased length of hospitalization, hazards to occupational health and loss of institutional accreditation.

Organizational Culture Should Support Patient, Healthcare Worker Safety

The symbiotic relationship between patient safety and healthcare worker safety and the need for institutional championship of a safety of culture are the focus of a recent monograph released by the Joint Commission in late 2012. The document, "Improving Patient and Worker ...More
April 8, 2013
Posted in Articles, Policies and Practice
Joint Commission Publishes Patient and Worker Safety Monograph

The Joint Commission today released a free monograph, “Improving Patient and Worker Safety: Opportunities for Synergy, Collaboration and Innovation,” to draw attention to the need to create a culture that focuses on both the safety of patients and the healthcare workers who ...More
January 31, 2013
Posted in News, Policies and Practice
Joint Commission Publishes Patient and Worker Safety Monograph

The Joint Commission has released a free monograph, “Improving Patient and Worker Safety: Opportunities for Synergy, Collaboration and Innovation,” to draw attention to the need to create a culture that focuses on both the safety of patients and the healthcare workers who ...More
November 20, 2012
Posted in News, Policies and Practice
International Research Finds Quality and Safety Problems in Hospitals in 13 Countries

In one of the largest studies of its kind, a consortium of investigators from 13 countries led the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in the U.S. and the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium in Europe, found that nurses who reported better working conditions in ...More
March 20, 2012
Posted in News
Perception, Work-Life Balance are Key Factors in Workplace Safety

Six thousand workers die on the job in the U.S. each year, and millions more are injured. According to a recent University of Georgia study, a worker's perception of safety in the workplace and the work-life balance established by businesses has a significant effect on ...More
February 17, 2012
Posted in News
Medicare Study Shows Most Medical Errors Go Unreported

A new study released the first week in January 2012 by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that hospital employees are only reporting 14 percent of all medical errors and usually don't change their practices ...More
January 9, 2012
Posted in News
Study Highlights Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Patients and Healthcare Providers

A new UCLA study shows that physicians who work shorter shifts are less likely to make mistakes during medical procedures. Dr. Christian De Virgilio, lead investigator at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor- UCL A Medical Center (LA BioMed), led a team ...More
December 21, 2011
Posted in News
Pre-Surgery Exam Rates Vary Widely Among Hospitals

Hospitals vary greatly in the number of patients who see an internal medicine specialist before major non-cardiac surgery, with rates ranging from 5 percent of patients to 90 percent, new research has found. The findings are important because they suggest there are no ...More
December 21, 2011
Posted in News
Partnership for Patients Initiative to Improve Hospital Care

Hospitals across the country will have new resources and support to make healthcare safer and less costly by targeting and reducing the millions of preventable injuries and complications from healthcare-acquired conditions, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ...More
December 21, 2011
Posted in News
Hospital Safety Climate Linked to Both Patient and Nurse Injuries, Study Reveals

A safe working environment for nurses is also a safe environment for the patients in their care, according to a new study led by public health researchers at Drexel University. Researchers, led by Dr. Jennifer Taylor, an assistant professor in Drexel’s School of Public ...More
November 7, 2011
Posted in News, Policies and Practice