Featured News

  1. Quiz Your Staff With Mobile Apps 6/1/2016

    Gamification is making learning new protocols easier according to experts who use mobile quizzes to increase information retention among hospital staff. By Katie Wike, contributing writer

  2. Medical Error Is The Third Leading Cause Of Patient Death 5/9/2016

    Study finds only heart disease and cancer caused more deaths than medical errors. By Christine Kern, contributing writer

  3. Robotic Compounding Of Medications Helps Improve Patient Safety 4/14/2016

    Using robotic systems for sterile IV therapies improves safety and compliance, reduces waste. By Christine Kern, contributing writer

  4. CMS Launches Medicaid Interoperability Initiative 3/17/2016

    Move is anticipated to increase provider connectivity and improve sustainability of HIEs. By Christine Kern, contributing writer

  5. Healthcare Miscommunication Costs 2,000 Lives And $1.7 Billion 2/11/2016

    Total numbers are probably higher according to new research. By Christine Kern, contributing writer

  6. CONNECT Bill Would Extend Telehealth Services Via Medicare 2/10/2016

    The bipartisan bill would help providers meet the goals of MACRA with telehealth options. By Christine Kern, contributing writer

  7. 5 Steps To Take Following A Needlestick 2/8/2016

    According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 385,000 sharps-related injuries occur annually in the U.S. healthcare industry — an average of more than 1,000 per day. A sharps-related injury is a penetrating stab wound from a needle, scalpel, or other sharp object that may result in exposure to blood or body fluids. By Dave Hurton, Key Account Director, MedSafe

  8. One Quarter Of Doctors Not Prepared To Coordinate Complex Care 12/31/2015

    A Commonwealth Fund survey finds physicians are ill-prepared to effectively manage and coordinate care for patients. By Christine Kern, contributing writer

  9. AHRQ Introduces First Nationwide Readmission Database 12/21/2015

    Database will be valuable for healthcare analyses and decision-making. By Christine Kern, contributing writer

  10. Keys To Building A Fortified Staffing Process Ahead Of The Nurse Retirement Surge 12/18/2015

    AMN Healthcare recently released its 2015 Survey of Registered Nurses. This research included input from nearly 9,000 RNs on topics ranging from retirement, education, and emerging roles. A number of the findings struck me, the following two especially:

    • 62 percent of RNs over 54 are thinking about retirement and most say they plan to retire within three years
    • RNs love their career choice, but have mixed feelings about their job, citing not having adequate time with their patients, feeling their job negatively affects their health, and so on

    That leaves us with the most experienced nurses nearing retirement and the majority of remaining nurses not feeling overjoyed with their jobs, although they love nursing. This points to an overwhelming need to improve conditions for care staff. Typically, the top dissatisfier for staff are staffing/scheduling issues, e.g., being short, having to float, having shifts cancelled, and being recruited constantly to pick up additional shifts. One of the solutions to this critical concern is a combination of technology and workforce strategies that can provide more certainty with staffing, greater work-life balance, and increased time with patients. By Chris Fox, president, Avantas