Security In The Health Care Environment

Security in the Health Care Environment provides the reader with must-have information about security in the health care environment, JCAHO requirements, recordkeeping and other administrative aspects expected of the Security Department. A unique feature of the book is the inclusion of examples of security awareness programs with suggestions on how to implement them. The inclusion of forms also makes this handbook unique. One entire section of the book is devoted to security issues in specific departments such as: The maternity center, pharmacy, emergency department, business office, home care, psychiatric units, and more, making this an easy-to-use resource.

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

Building on the revolutionary Institute of Medicine reports To Err is Human and Crossing the Quality Chasm, Keeping Patients Safe lays out guidelines for improving patient safety by changing nurses' working conditions and demands. Licensed nurses and unlicensed nursing assistants are critical participants in our national effort to protect patients from health care errors. The nature of the activities nurses typically perform â€" monitoring patients, educating home caretakers, performing treatments, and rescuing patients who are in crisis â€" provides an indispensable resource in detecting and remedying error-producing defects in the U.S. health care system. During the past two decades, substantial changes have been made in the organization and delivery of health care â€" and consequently in the job description and work environment of nurses. As patients are increasingly cared for as outpatients, nurses in hospitals and nursing homes deal with greater severity of illness. Problems in management practices, employee deployment, work and workspace design, and the basic safety culture of health care organizations place patients at further risk. This newest edition in the groundbreaking Institute of Medicine Quality Chasm series discusses the key aspects of the work environment for nurses and reviews the potential improvements in working conditions that are likely to have an impact on patient safety.

"Identifies a common grounding in risk management and similar legislative treatment of regulation in these areas across State and Federal jurisdictions" --

Hospital and Healthcare Security, Fifth Edition, examines the issues inherent to healthcare and hospital security, including licensing, regulatory requirements, litigation, and accreditation standards. Building on the solid foundation laid down in the first four editions, the book looks at the changes that have occurred in healthcare security since the last edition was published in 2001. It consists of 25 chapters and presents examples from Canada, the UK, and the United States. It first provides an overview of the healthcare environment, including categories of healthcare, types of hospitals, the nonhospital side of healthcare, and the different stakeholders. It then describes basic healthcare security risks/vulnerabilities and offers tips on security management planning. The book also discusses security department organization and staffing, management and supervision of the security force, training of security personnel, security force deployment and patrol activities, employee involvement and awareness of security issues, implementation of physical security safeguards, parking control and security, and emergency preparedness. Healthcare security practitioners and hospital administrators will find this book invaluable. Practical support for healthcare security professionals, including operationally proven policies, and procedures Specific assistance in preparing plans and materials tailored to healthcare security programs Summary tables and sample forms bring together key data, facilitating ROI discussions with administrators and other departments General principles clearly laid out so readers can apply the industry standards most appropriate to their own environment NEW TO THIS EDITION: Quick-start section for hospital administrators who need an overview of security issues and best practices

Medical residents in hospitals are often required to be on duty for long hours. In 2003 the organization overseeing graduate medical education adopted common program requirements to restrict resident workweeks, including limits to an average of 80 hours over 4 weeks and the longest consecutive period of work to 30 hours in order to protect patients and residents from unsafe conditions resulting from excessive fatigue. Resident Duty Hours provides a timely examination of how those requirements were implemented and their impact on safety, education, and the training institutions. An in-depth review of the evidence on sleep and human performance indicated a need to increase opportunities for sleep during residency training to prevent acute and chronic sleep deprivation and minimize the risk of fatigue-related errors. In addition to recommending opportunities for on-duty sleep during long duty periods and breaks for sleep of appropriate lengths between work periods, the committee also recommends enhancements of supervision, appropriate workload, and changes in the work environment to improve conditions for safety and learning. All residents, medical educators, those involved with academic training institutions, specialty societies, professional groups, and consumer/patient safety organizations will find this book useful to advocate for an improved culture of safety.

In the realm of health care, privacy protections are needed to preserve patients' dignity and prevent possible harms. Ten years ago, to address these concerns as well as set guidelines for ethical health research, Congress called for a set of federal standards now known as the HIPAA Privacy Rule. In its 2009 report, Beyond the HIPAA Privacy Rule: Enhancing Privacy, Improving Health Through Research, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Health Research and the Privacy of Health Information concludes that the HIPAA Privacy Rule does not protect privacy as well as it should, and that it impedes important health research.