This "Red Phone" was designed to make it easy for physicians to report any patient harm, near miss, or unsafe condition, as historically less than 1% of all event reports are filed by physicians. Risk management receives the reports and contacts the reporter if needed.
Physicians can use this tool 24-7 to alert risk management of patient harm, near misses, or unsafe conditions.
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Let us know what you think about Clinical Connections! |
Complete Short Survey for Chance to Win a Mini iPad!
We are conducting a brief survey to better understand
what physicians and pharmacists know about hospital antibiograms. The survey explores what you know about antibiograms and how you use or might use the information they present in making patient care decisions. Your participation/answers are anonymous and the survey should take no more than 10 minutes. Once you have completed the survey, you can choose to enter your name into a drawing for a chance to win a new Mini iPad. Your entry will not be linked to your survey responses.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE:
MUSC physicians in training (residents and fellows), on hospital staff or with attending status; MUSC pharmacists in training (residents), clinical pharmacists, and clinical pharmacy specialists.
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If you have questions or comments, let us know!
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Vaccinating Inpatients for Influenza
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Dear MUSC Medical Staff,
Each influenza season, which starts October 1, we assess all patients for influenza vaccine. Our method is for nursing to assess patients on admission and if the patient meets criteria, he/she is automatically vaccinated under a standing order protocol.
The vaccination rate is a core measure monitored and publicly reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). MUSC's influenza vaccination rate last season was 92%. Top performing hospitals achieve 100% and that is our goal this influenza season. We are striving to improve this rate and one area we have opportunity is for patients admitted prior to October 1 and still in the hospital after October 1. Therefore we will start vaccinating current inpatients next week so we don't miss anyone potentially discharged after October 1.
September 23rd is the first day to screen and vaccinate inpatients for Influenza. The first day of screening will be a "catch up" day; all inpatients need to be screened-vaccinated. After this catch up day, the screening is done with all new admits. Historically we have not vaccinated ICU patients, therefore ICU-to-floor transfers will need to be screened (if not already done) and vaccinated (if they screen in).
Why vaccinate?
During the 2012-2013 Influenza season, the US had >12,000 hospitalizations for Influenza. During the peak season, 10% of all deaths were attributed to pneumonia-Influenza in adults, and 149 Influenza-attributed pediatrics deaths occurred over the course of the season. Every year, these statistics remain staggering, for a potentially preventable disease.
What do you need to do?
Nursing:
- Screen all patients starting Sept 23 with a standing order from the Medical Executive Committee.
- Vaccinate all patients meeting criteria.
Medical Staff (Attendings, Fellows, Housestaff, Medical Students)
- Do not discontinue the vaccination standing order.
- If you note an eligible patient is missed, please bring it to the attention of the patient's nurse.
Please be sure to carefully screen each patient, and vaccinate when appropriate. For patients with egg allergies, there is an egg-free vaccine available this year (pending supply).
Thank you for your help with this important annual endeavor and as always, thank you for the great care you provide every day!
Sincerely,
Danielle Scheurer, MD, MSCR, SFHM
Chief Quality Officer
Patrick J. Cawley, MD
Executive Director/CEO, Medical Center
Vice President for Clinical Operations, University |
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Our Strategic Intent (A milepost on the way to Vision)
Top 25 among academic medical centers for reputation, quality, service, efficiency and financial performance by 2015.
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National Clinical Documentation Improvement Week (9/16-9/20)
A special thank you to all of our Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) specialists at MUSC. CDI Specialists review patient medical records and assess whether all conditions and treatments are documented. This documentation helps provide an accurate picture of the severity of the patient's illnesses and risk of mortality. When the documentation is unclear or deficient, CDI specialists query physicians to provide clarification. This is crucial not only for reimbursement, but also for evaluating quality indicators, resource consumption, and publicly reported outcome measures.
This group of dedicated professionals is focused on making sure the MUSC medical staff documents correctly in order to show proof of our high quality and safety.
Thank you, for this stuff wasn't taught in medical school!
Our CDI Specialists:
Tina Smith, RN
Pam Parris, RN
Karen Bridgeman, RN
Jackie Robinson, RN
Randy Massingale, RN
Cindy Kicklighter, RN
Marsha Cisa, RN
Marilyn Willis, RN
Priscilla Browder, RN
Sylvia Odom, RN (Manager of CDI) |
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