3 Stories You Need But May Have Missed This Week

We know you’re busy, but we don’t want you to miss important healthcare quality and patient safety news. Below is a roundup of stories you may have missed but need to take a look at before calling it a week. (Sign up on the right if you’d like these news alerts delivered to you.)

1. Reminder: Hospitals Must Be Member of PSO to Participate in State Health Insurance Exchanges
   The deadline of a critical mandate in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) regarding state health insurance exchanges is rapidly approaching. Beginning January 1, 2015, hospitals with 50 beds or more cannot participate in a state insurance exchange unless they are a member of a Patient Safety Organization (PSO) that is certified by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
2. New AACN Practice Alert Aims to Improve Patient Safety, Minimize Alarm Fatigue
   Access a new list of evidence-based protocols, published by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, developed to prevent desensitization to alarms intended to alert hospital staff to significant changes in their patients’ conditions.
3. Stealth Infectors: Mobile Medical Equipment and Hospital Acquired Infections
   Proper sterilization of mobile medical equipment could be key in preventing deaths caused by healthcare-associated infections.  Read the recommendations for fighting deadly germs – hiding in plain view – in the study, Stealth Infectors, conducted by GE Healthcare.