True or false: Serious medication errors have occurred when physicians, nurses, or other healthcare professionals assumed they knew what was inside an unlabeled medication container....

True or false: It is important to train staff members to be able to recognize early warning signs of cardiac or respiratory arrest because early response to these changes may reduce cardiopulmonary ar...

In April 2008, Baystate Medical Center (BMC), a 653-bed teaching hospital in Springfield, MA, began implementation of its Bar Code Point of Care (BCPOC) technology to positively impact medication admi...

The Joint Commission has added a clarification to standard RC.02.01.01, EP 4, under the Record of Care, Treatment, and Services chapter. This clarification is a follow-up to a request by CMS on info...

If you stay around long enough in this field, the issues just cycle back. This year in the annual Joint Commission Executive Briefings, the issue of standing orders once again was raised. MM.04.04.01,...

When you read the words “patient safety” or “quality,” what images immediately come to mind? It might be nurses washing their hands, fall risk signs, doctors with checklists,...

Keep an eye out for the downloadable version of the Survey Coordinator’s Handbook, 12th Edition, on the AHAP site this week....

The Joint Commission continues to request comments on its proposed National Patient Safety Goals for 2012 intended to address ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and catheter-associated tract infect...

After reading this article, you will be able to: Describe methods on how to incorporate the Survey Activity Guide into survey preparation Discuss ways to combine a pre-survey agenda with the...

The Joint Commission has updated its sentinel events statistics, according to an official statement on the accrediting organization’s Web site. The updates can be viewed here....