Safety Guidelines and Regulations

Health Science 1

what are the 2 major responsibilities for all health care providers

ensuring safety for the selves and the patients

Providing high quality care

Safety

lack of harm or danger

Focuses on avoiding negative outcomes

Makes mistakes less likely

Prevents, errors, accidents, infections, and injuries

quality

doing the right thing using the right process, at the right time, for the right patient

Focuses on efficient, effective, purposeful, care in a timely manner

Raises the bar so the overall care experience is a better on

what factors affect safety

interval and external

Internal factors

Inside the body/ partial control

mental disabilities

Physical disabilities

Impaired hearing or vision

Substance abuse

Excessive alcohol consumption

Prescription medication that may impair a patients judgments

External factors

environment/ can’t control

Unsafe neighborhoods

Potentially h dangerous pets

Violent/unstable family members

Unregulated room temp

Poor indoor air and lighting(pollution)

Unsanitary conditions

Common safety issues

Errors

Injury

Accidents

HAI

Errors

mistakes made by health care staff

Diagnostic

Medication

Wrong site

Injury

commonly caused by falls

Health care employees should be educated about prevent falls as well as how to educate patients on the same

Accidents

slipping in spills/ tripping over equipment

All walking and working areas should be free of clutter and spills

What does HAI stand for

Health care Aquired infection

What is an HAI

an infection a patient gets while being treated for a medical condition

1/20 hospitalized patients get one

Cause on her recovery time and even death

What are some surroundings health care worker should know

exits

Stairways

Elevators

Fire alarms

Fire extinguishers

Code blue

Adult medical emergency

Code red

fire emergency

Bio hazardous materials

materials that are contaminated or contain infectious pathogens

radiation

found around radiation treatment areas and near x-ray facilities

Lockout tag

Tags used on damaged or dangerous equipment

Oxygen in use

indicate that compressed O2 is being used

DONT smoke or have an open flame

Protective equipment required

Tells which type of PPE must be worn when entering a specific area

Isolation

highly contaminated areas and should only be entered by individuals who are trained and wearing proper PPE

Ergonomic

the study of promoting the safety and comfort of a person by adapting the environment

Health care facility examples of ergonomics

furniture and equipment are placed in positions that do not obstruct a patients path way

Hallways and walkways must be kept clear of clutter

Floor plan must accommodate high traffic areas, small children and wheelchairs

Exits, stairways, and elevators must be labeled and well lit

Good housekeeping

basic safety practice

EVERY health care workers job to ensure a safe and sanitary environment

Examples of good health care housekeeping

Spills and splatter are cleaned up immediately

Wet areas are marked with signs

With hazardous spill use precautions when clearing and notify house keeping immediately to disinfect the area

Daly attention should be given to high traffic areas and frequently used devices

How can you help patients feel safe and secure

Properly greeting and identifying patients

Respecting a patients privacy

Thoroughly explaining all procedures and why you are performing them

What are some good ways to help make your patient feel safe

respect their privacy(Knock/ wait for a response before you enter)

Use patients name(preferred if you know it)

Introduce yourself

Be personable

Provide privacy(If wanted have family members leave)

Validate you patients concerns

What is the best way to introduce yourself

tell patient your name and position

Shake his/her hand if appropriate

Introduce any other medical professionals who are in the room with you

Acknowledge any family and friends who are also in the room

Why does properly identifying patients matter

helps provide the best care

Protects the facility and its staff from making serious and costly mistakes

Always use more than one identifier

What are the procedures for identifying a patient

check the patients wrist band

Have patient confirm their identity

Confirm any scheduled procedures

What do patients have the right to know during any treatment

what medications and procedures are being given to them

Make sure to use language they’ll understand

What do healthcare regulatory agencies do

monitor practitioners and facilities

Provide information about industry changes

Promote safety

Ensure legal compliance and quality service

OSHA

occupational safety and health administration

Gov agency that enforces safety standards in the workplace to protect employees from injury and illness

Responsible for creating safety standards that apply specifically to healthcare facilities

FDA

food and drug administration

Responsible for protecting and advancing public health

Regulates the safety of food and drug products that are sold to the public

EPA

environments protection agency

Protect human health and environment

Regulations in healthcare, including proper disposal of biohazardous waste

CMS

center for medical and Medicaid services

Responsible for the administration of Medicare,Medicaid, and the children health insurance program

Responsible for updating HIPAA health info privacy and security regulations

HIPAA laws

Can’t share patients info with anyone outside of the patient

The Joint Commission

And independent non profit organization that works to ensure healthcare organizations provide quality care

Examine healthcare organization and scores them 1-100

Sentinel Event

Any unanticipated event in a healthcare setting resulting in death or serious physical or psychological injury to a patient, not related to the natural curse of the patient’s illness.

What is the main reason that event reporting must be done quickly

so the issue can be corrected and patient safety and comfort can be re-established

What are the 6 categories of events that should be reported

surgical events

Product or device events

Patient protection events

Care management events

Environmental events

Criminal events

Types of Surgical events

surgery performed on the wrong body parts

Surgery performed on the wrong patient

Wrong surgical prosecute performed on a patient

Retention of a foreign object in a patient after surgery or other procedure

What is a product or device event

patient death or serious disability associated with the use of contaminated drugs, devices, or biological provided by a healthcare facility

What are patient protection events

patient suicide or attempted suicide resulting in a serious disability while being cared for in a healthcare facility

Infant discharge to the wrong person

Why are Care management events

patient harmed due to a medication error

Stage ¾ pressure ulcers Acquired after admission to a healthcare facility

What are environmental events

patient death associated with a fall while being cared for in a healthcare facility

Patient harm associated with the use of restraints or bed rails

What are criminal events

Sexual assault on a patient

Physical assault on either a patient or a staff member

Liable

Being legally responsible for causing harm

Medical negligence

failure to take reasonable care or steps to prevent loss or injury to another person

(Accidental)

Medical Malpractice

Medical professional knows that they should have done something to treat a patient but failed to do so

Intent

What are the types of liability

person

Supervisor

Employer

What is personal liability

Healthcare worker responsible for causing harm

What is supervisory liability

supervisor of healthcare worker is responsible for causing harm

Liable because workers are expected to work according to the supervisor’’s management

What is employer liability

employers are responsible for causing harm

Responsible for hiring qualified personnel, providing appropriate environment, and adequate supervision

If someone is found liable for an injury what can happen

monetary fines

Jail time

Sued

What are the ways to reduce liability issues

policies

Procedures

Proper documentation

Policies

direct the facilities activities

Procedures

methods the facility uses to carry out its policies

When filing reports what should be included in it

who was involved in the event

What occurred

When it occurred

Where it occurred

What actions were taken

Statements by any people who were harmed as a result of the event

Statements by any healthcare workers who were involved in the event

Statements by any witnesses

Anecdotal records

keeping their own records of event incase others are lost

How should you interview a victim

private setting

Have empathy

Write down exactly what the victim says

Maintain eye contact