General Orientation Made Easy!
Envision Inc's Healthcare Blog
For new hires in healthcare and their Educators, General Orientation is like running a marathon. So many topics to cover, so little time. It is true that general orientation is the window of time that the facility has to officially welcome you as a new hire to the organization and take care of the business of getting you on board. But beyond the Human Resources necessities regarding payroll, benefits and such, there are many topics that must be covered that are designed to introduce you to the vision and priorities of the organization.
Some general orientation topics revolve around the company’s Mission Statement and so will introduce the topics that are patient driven, such as customer service, patient centered care, cultural sensitivity, patient rights and patient safety. Others revolve around your job skills, but also how you are expected to improve the work environment through enhanced communication and respect towards your coworkers. Finally, there…
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HIPAA: The New Security Rule and HITECH Act
DHHS just released a guidance on how to protect HIPAA privacy during emergency situations, such as an EBOLA outbreak. http://tinyurl.com/oey67nf
Envision Inc's Healthcare Blog
A hospital in Michigan accidentally posts the medical records of thousands of patients on the internet. A health insurer loses the financial, health and personal information of 450,000 customers, and fails to notify them for six months. And two of the largest pharmacy chains in the U.S. are found discarding patient records and other legally-protected information in unsecured dumpsters.
This unnecessary exposure of private information should be alarming. In fact, since the creation of the HIPAA act, the Department of Health and Human Services has investigated approximately 8,000 legitimate complaints of privacy violations. These statistics are simply unacceptable.
As professionals who work in healthcare, how we protect personal health information is just as much a part of our jobs as the care we deliver. At stake is not only the privacy of an individual’s care, but the security of personal information, which could be used for medical identity theft, and other…
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Violence in Healthcare
Envision Inc's Healthcare Blog
Domestic Violence with Gun in Hospital
Healthcare is rightfully obsessed with the need to protect the safety of patients. But what about the safety of healthcare workers? Our society is fraught with violence in the form of gangs, robberies, homicides, domestic quarrels, etc. And unfortunately, this violence can and does spill into the hospitals from the streets, threatening the very health and safety of those we depend on to heal us. The statistics regarding violence in healthcare settings are grim.
- Violent crime in hospitals increased by 200% from 2004 to 2009.
- The Joint Commission Sentinel Events database shows that 2011 had the second highest reported rate of criminal events in hospitals since the database’s inception in 1995.
- Between 35% and 80% of hospital staff have been physically assaulted at least once during their careers.
- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of non-fatal assaults on healthcare workers is
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Customer Service: HCAHPS and the New Healthcare Imperative
If hospitals are to keep and attract new customers despite increasing competition among providers, as well as meet the requirements by CMS to improve customer service, healthcare facilities must do more to retain and create new patients. Getting providers and staff to understand the necessity for good customer service, as well as the payoff inherent in providing this aspect of good quality care, will be the key to success.
Continue Reading January 28, 2014 at 5:35 pm Leave a comment
General Orientation Made Easy!
For new hires in healthcare and their Educators, General Orientation is like running a marathon. So many topics to cover, so little time. It is true that general orientation is the window of time that the facility has to officially welcome you as a new hire to the organization and take care of the business of getting you on board. But beyond the Human Resources necessities regarding payroll, benefits and such, there are many topics that must be covered that are designed to introduce you to the vision and priorities of the organization. These include the mandatories dictated by The Joint Commission and other accreditation bodies, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA).
Violence in Healthcare
Healthcare is rightfully obsessed with the need to protect the safety of patients. But what about the safety of healthcare workers? Our society is fraught with violence in the form of gangs, robberies, homicides, domestic quarrels, etc. And unfortunately, this violence can and does spill into the hospitals from the streets, threatening the very health and safety of those we depend on to heal us. But, violence in any fashion or form should not be permitted or tolerated by patients, visitors or employees!
Can Environmental Cleaning Keep C. diff At Bay?
Because it is a hot item of discussion these days, another C. difficile discussion seems in order. While our recent post discussed the best practice recommendations for antibiotic stewardship and infection prevention strategies, a post regarding environmental cleaning and disinfection in particular is especially timely since the cleanliness of the environment is a known factor in transmission of this antibiotic resistant pathogen.