This article was orginally published in November 2018 and discusses the different signs of burnout, depression, and risk of suicide. As many healthcare workers begin to feel the burden of caring for patients on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, this article serves to point out how to...
Consider alarm fatigue. Providers are supposed to respond with the same alacrity to each of the hundreds of pings, alerts, or notifications they get every day. But these systems are often so excessive and poorly calibrated that staff become numb to them. Then, when an important alert is...
Any physician opening up a new practice is likely concerned with practice management. While planning the operational and logistical aspects of running a practice, which is essentially a business, there is an important area that is often overlooked: leadership. Although medical leadership is...
The AMA is calling for barriers “based on arbitrary thresholds” to be lifted for prescription opioids. The organization says that these barriers, which were put into place in response to the opioid crisis, have hurt many patients receiving medication-assisted treatment (MAT).
Gaps in mobile security remain a threat to your protected health information (PHI) and leave you vulnerable to HIPAA violations, so train and, if necessary, limit employee use to reduce the risk.
Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets were once considered a risky proposition in...
Advances in healthcare delivery continue at an exponential speed. Technologies, procedures, and treatments that were not even dreamed of several years ago are now realities. It is certain that, as a medical staff leader, you will be faced with the inevitable request from one of your medical...
To carry out board-delegated responsibilities, an effective medical staff needs to control the quality of care rendered by medical staff members and other practitioners granted clinical privileges and to provide a structure whereby physicians have input in the institution’s decision-making....
CMS, accrediting agencies, and state regulations enumerate myriad functions that medical staffs must address. These functions can be addressed in bylaws but may be better articulated in medical staff policies. The ultimate responsibility for all medical staff functions lies with the medical...
With the new year officially in full swing, it’s a good time to reflect on documentation findings from surveys during the past year and develop an action plan to be ready for surveys in 2019. Although the record of care, treatment, and services did not receive a place in the top 10 Requirements...
When a performance issue surfaces during a review process, maintaining strict confidentiality becomes crucial for both the practitioner and the facility. Due to the sensitive nature of poor findings—and the potential backlash from leaking information to the general membership—medical staff...
