All Entries in the "EC" Category
Even splintered, life safety standards top the citation list so far in 2009
When The Joint Commission announced a while back that the old EC.5.20 was the top cited standard in hospitals in 2008, there some observers (including me) who thought that statistic would be hard to repeat. After all, it was reasoned, the all-encompassing EC.5.20 had splintered into various new life safety standards in 2009, none of which would carry the punch of their predecessor.
Well, we non-believers were wrong. Information just released by Joint Commission Resources yesterday shows that for the first half of 2009, two life safety standards and an environment of care standard – all of them related to fire protection requirements – comprised three of the top five most cited standards in hospitals. [more]
Be wary about using fire drills as emergency management tests
I was recently asked whether fire drills could count towards The Joint Commission’s requirements for emergency management tests under EM.03.01.03.
I suppose if you evaluated a fire drill to the extent called for under [more]
Further thoughts on patient-owned equipment in the hospital
A quick follow-up to a post I made last week about patient-owned equipment coming into the hospital:
One thing you might want to consider relative to these types of devices is whether [more]
Joint Commission offers guidance, but no mandates, for patient-owned items
Many of you deal with patient-owned equipment, such as hair dryers, coming into the hospital.
The Joint Commission published an FAQ on this topic last year, and this is one of those instances in which, in opening the risk assessment door, the FAQ provides just enough semi-specific information to confuse matters. [more]
No hard-and-fast rule to discuss patient safety at EC committee meetings
There is no Joint Commission mandate for patient-safety-related concerns to be managed through the environment of care or safety committee.
Some of the former EC standards (or more properly, EPs) that were removed with the 2009 changeover did imply [more]
Ultimate fighting star’s alleged assaults reinforce the danger of healthcare work
The subject of workplace violence in hospitals rose out of the weeds again yesterday with word that a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star had been arrested for allegedly assaulting three nurses at a hospital in Nevada on Tuesday.
Fighter Junie Browning, who was fired by UFC following his arrest, originally went to St. Rose Dominican Hospital’s [more]
Ensure someone in-house at least monitors medical equipment maintenance
From an empirical standpoint, each department with medical equipment being maintained by contract should have an inventory and be able to quantify compliance with whatever preventive maintenance sequence is identified.
The Joint Commission grants a lot of leeway [more]
The Joint Commission doesn’t mandate infant abduction drills, but …
I suspect that the reason The Joint Commission doesn’t (or perhaps even can’t) require infant abduction drills under EC.02.01.01 is that not everyone has to manage the security of those at-risk populations.
My take on this concern is that Joint Commission officials have tried to create standards and performance elements that can be applied [more]
Risk assessments are the way to go with power strip use
As you might guess, I’m in favor of using the risk assessment process to look at the issue of power strip use in hospitals.
And I’d start with a determination of whether a power strip is the most appropriate strategy, with the recognition that once you start with the power strip as opposed to additional electrical outlets, you’ve increased [more]
Keeping a grip on your outsourced medical equipment management
When it comes to medical device management outsourced to vendors, you might consider monitoring the performance of equipment managed by contract as a function of downtime.
It may be that you are paying for more service than [more]
