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Dear Friends of ClearCount:
This June, ClearCount and Medline Industries co-sponsored the “Time Out to Share” iPad campaign in recognition of the National the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) National Time Out Day, held June 16. During this important day for patient safety, leading healthcare organizations recognized the importance of O.R. teams taking time out before surgery to confirm important details in order to make surgical procedures more safe. As part of the “Time Out to Share” campaign, over 300 OR nurses and healthcare professionals registered for a chance to win an iPad by providing feedback on the AORN surgical checklist. The random drawing winner, Becky McKinney, RN, is the Infection Prevention Manager for St. Vincent’s Health System in Birmingham, AL. Becky indicated that her hospital does mandate a surgical Time Out before every surgery and suggested the addition of preop antibiotic to the surgical checklist. On August 9, Medline representatives Michael Reeves (at podium) and Darren Nettuno (left) made the surprise presentation during a staff meeting in front of Becky’s peers. The iPad also came preloaded with the free Medline University app, which provides wireless access to Medline’s free CEU program on handheld devices such as the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.
To see a PDF of the national survey results click here. We know that making patient safety improvements is hard work – we’re thrilled about the responses we received from the healthcare community on this important initiative and we are committed year-round to work together with our clients to ensure patient safety every time, in every case.
Here are some patient safety stories that recently caught our interest:
 1) In the latest fiscal year, California hospitals reported 197 cases of "retained foreign objects" for a total of 350 incidents over the past two years, accounting for 14% of all preventable errors reported during those two years. Since 2007, California has issued $4.8 million in administrative penalties to California hospitals for avoidable mistakes.
2) The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recently conducted a survey of healthcare professionals on current industry trends. The survey focused on gaining feedback on RFID applications in healthcare. 222 respondents gave their opinions on areas in which RFID was most applicable. Patient safety topped the list, with 31% responding that they believed RFID could make the most impact in patient safety applications. Interestingly, only 16% reported that RFID was being used in their facility for patient safety purposes. We believe that with increased use of RFID in hospitals, the benefits will become more obvious, and practice will better reflect opinions on the patient safety promise of RFID technology.
3) We're pleased to highlight two recent customers "in the news" after adopting ClearCount's technology to prevent retained surgical sponges. The VA Pittsburgh Hospital, part of the VA System (largest healthcare system in the US), has implemented the SmartSponge System into its full suite of operating rooms – see video news here. Mercy Philadelphia Hospital, a community teaching hospital, has implemented the Smartwand-DTX in its operating suites as an innovative approach to improving patient safety.
When thinking about your options for improving patient safety in your hospital, be sure to give us a call!
Best regards,
David Palmer
Chief Executive Officer
ClearCount Medical Solutions
www.clearcount.com
(412) 931-7233
david.palmer@clearcount.com | |
