Insights & News in Healthcare Safety

Drug Diversion and Infection Prevention: When the Needle Hits the Vein

Longtime infection prevention leaders likely remember the story of David Kwiatkowski—a healthcare worker whose drug diversion activities put thousands of patients at risk of hepatitis C infection. ...

Supporting Nurses in Transition: Addressing Patient Safety Concerns in 2024

For 2024, one of the most pressing concerns in healthcare is ensuring the safe and effective transition of new nurses from their education into clinical practice. As the frontline of patient care, ...

Understanding “Human Factors” is Not “Factors Associated with Being Human”

Modern healthcare relies on a variety of physical and digital assets and tools. Sophisticated medical devices help in diagnosing and treating disease. Advanced materials prevent the spread of bacte...

Advancing Safe and Equitable Healthcare: The New Patient Safety Structural Measure by CMS

On July 31, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a significant update to the hospital quality reporting program with the finalization of the Patient Safety Structu...

Five Key Takeaways on Video-Based Patient Monitoring for Preventing Falls

ECRI named ongoing challenges related to patient falls as one of its 2024 Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns because falls continue to be the number one sentinel event reported to the Joint Commission ...

Navigating the Complexities of Dementia Diagnosis: The Path to Diagnostic Excellence

Understanding the diagnosis of dementia is essential for medical professionals, patients, and caregivers. Unlike many medical conditions that are diagnosed through straightforward testing, diagnosi...

How American Emergency Departments Are Missing Older Adult Abuse

A recent report in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society (JAGS) suggests that emergency departments (EDs) have opportunities to improve how they identify cases of older adult abuse and how ...

Introducing SALUTE: Ensuring Equitable Healthcare for Veterans

Designing a healthcare delivery system that ensures equitable care for all patients is crucial for achieving total systems safety. This includes building partnerships among patients, families, and ...

What Hospitals Need to Know: Using Water During Processing of Medical Devices

Every day, hospitals’ central sterile processing teams rely on water as they clean and sterilize a variety of medical devices. In this blog, ECRI outlines general considerations to support safe and...