Hospitals working hard to reduce harm
A recent article from the New York Times examined a variety of ways hospitals are currently working to reduce harm.
For example, some facilities have tried to limit infections by using video cameras and sensors to make sure employees are sufficiently washing their hands. Another way some hospitals are prioritizing hygiene is limiting what surgeons can take into operating rooms. Items such as backpacks and cellphones get left behind, and it helps decrease the likelihood of an infection.
The article also discussed how hospitals are working to prevent pressure ulcers.
“There’s no mystery to preventing pressure ulcers: it requires regular skin inspections and attention to hygiene, incontinence, nutrition and dehydration,” the article explained. “Pressure ulcers can develop in as little as two hours, so the challenge is staying vigilant. When hospitals make it a priority, they see changes. The Minnesota Hospital Association reduced pressure ulcers by 40 percent with a coordinated approach. Hospitals in Pennsylvania have reported important progress, and Ascension Health, which has been focusing on this problem since 2003, reports that its rate of hospital acquired pressure ulcers is less than one-fifteenth the national average.”
Click below to read the full text on the Times’ website:
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.