patient safety in healthcare

Managing Visitors in a Healthcare Facility – An Impetus to Patient Safety and Recovery

patient safety in healthcare

The following post on improving patient safety in healthcare was submitted by Donald Raggs.

Healthcare facilities are becoming vulnerable almost every day in terms of patients’ safety and security. They need to be professionally managed. Healthcare facilities are highly prone to risks of security threats posed by intruders, unwanted guests, and temporary visitors. Managing hospital visitors is an important consideration for patient’s safety and recovery. Hospitals are aware enough to know that their visitors are the biggest threat to their patient’s security and infections that they may carry unknowingly from outside while they are visiting a in house patient. You may have heard hospital incidents about visitors who enter into a restricted hospital room without a visitor badge with the intention of harming patients and doing illegal activities. Hospital visitors present a potential risk to the patients and hospital staff if they are not handled precisely by the hospital security management.

patient safety in healthcare

Following these simple visitor management tips can help to increase patient safety in healthcare.

It is very important for healthcare organizations to ensure that the visitors who are entering into a facility are authorized and not risky for patients. There are numbers of best practices that should be followed by healthcare organizations to manage and identify authorized visitors. These practices to manage visitors are very important to optimize patient safety and recovery in the healthcare organization settings.

Incorporate a Visitor Management System into the Facility:

Healthcare organizations essentially have to adopt a visitor management system to track the movement of visitors who visit the hospital facility for various reasons. Visitor management system is an ideal tool for tracking hospital visitors in real time. It is hi-tech software that effectively controls record & tracks hospital’s visitor traffic. It monitors each visitor in the facility and keeps records of all relevant information about the visitor in a single database. Visitor management system keeps a tight check on intruders, unwanted visitors and prevents the entry of any unauthorized or unwanted person in the facility. It effectively tracks visitors 24×7 by ID registration, visiting approvals, badge management, record keeping and process management. Visitor management system prevents the risk of crimes and unlawful acts into the facility and ensures that the visitors are good for hospital security.

Decide particular visiting hours to visit patient for relatives:

Rest is very important for the recovery of patients. Hospital authorities cannot let visitors tour 24 hours to meet patients. This increases the chances of spreading infection to the patient by the visitor unknowingly. For healthcare organization it is very important to decide particular visiting hours to meet patients. Limited number of visitors should be allowed to meet a patient at a given point of time. This is to ensure that patients get the rest they need and other patients are not disturbed.

Some of the patients can be kept out of bounds for any visitors specially the ones who have undergone a major surgery or are suffering from communicable diseases that may be spread out to the public. Visitor management system can be useful in ensuring that such patients are quarantined effectively since the visitor management system is not going to issue any badges or visiting slips to these out of bound rooms. Thus only health care workers, doctors and authorized staff of the medical facility will be able to enter these rooms who essentially are trained, dressed and qualified to take of such patients.

Provide Per Visitor a Visitor Badge to Enter the Facility:

Providing a visitor badge to each hospital visitor before entering into the facility should be mandatory. Recording each visitor’s badge number and address details of the visitor with the badge in the database should be made a practice and if possible the health condition of the visitor should also be taken into account before allowing him or her to see a particular patient. Ask visitors to show their ID and purpose of visiting the facility at various check points which will not only control the movement of visitors but will also ensure calm and noise free environment for patients who are recovering there.

Fixing a time limit and letting the visitors know their time limit should be made a practice. How long a visitor has been with a patient in the hospital room can be easily calculated via the visitor management system and a gentle reminder can be sent on his or her phone to adhere to the time limit which of course is beneficial for the speedy recovery of the patient.

A visitor management system not only ensure the safety and security of the patients within a health care facility it also ensures that patients being treated there have a speedy recovery and are not disturbed by the constant flow of visitors. Thus next time you go visiting one of your friends in the hospital which has a visitor management system in place and you are not allowed to visit your patient don’t feel bad; maybe your patient has had quite a few visits that day and you may only be disturbing him instead of comforting him.

Donald is an independent writer and a content specialist from California. He jumped into the digital marketing scene early on. After obtaining masters in integrated marketing from northwestern university, He went to interactive marketing positions with top companies such as GE and Trackforce. As of today he is associated with Trackforce.com a leader in providing software and security management technology. Donald has great interest in technology and security. He loves writing about everything that is related to technology, security and safety.

learn more about the impact of medical identity theft on patients and the dangers to patient safety

New Podcast: Medical Identity Theft – What You Should Know

learn more about the impact of medical identity theft on patients and the dangers to patient safety
learn more about the impact of medical identity theft on patients and the dangers to patient safety

Eva Velasquez, President and CEO of The Identity Theft Resource Center joined us for our latest podcast centered on the topic of medical identity theft.

The following post was submitted by Jeremy Floyd, VP of Sales with RightPatient®

Identity theft is a term used to describe all types of crime in which someone illegally obtains and uses another person’s personal data in a way that involves fraud or deception, usually for some sort of economic gain (U.S. Depar It is a devastating, horrible crime resulting in huge financial losses and often irreparable reputation damage for the victim. 

Medical identity theft is defined as the act of stealing another person’s insurance information or name in order to illegally obtain medical services, prescriptions, and file claims with an insurance provider. It is a devastating crime that could have serious repercussions for both a patient and a medical provider. Before moving on from this post with the “it will never happen to me” philosophy, you may want to invest time to educate yourself on the effect medical identity theft could have on you or your loved ones, including your children. 

Were you aware that identity theft affects approximately 15 million people in the U.S. per year? Did you know that thieves can steal your child’s social security number BEFORE they are even born to commit medical identity theft? (Wait, what?) Have you heard that more hospitals and medical centers in the U.S. are investing in biometric patient identification solutions to prevent medical identity theft at the point of service?

We had the pleasure of catching up with Eva Velasquez, CEO of The Identity Theft Resource Center about the perils of identity theft and dug into more detail about the horrors of medical identity theft during our discussion. What you will discover after listening to our brand new podcast is that identity theft can be prevented and there are a lot of resources available to consumers to assist them if they have been victimized. 

Download a copy of the podcast here and listen to it on your commute, or wherever may be convenient. Have an idea for a podcast that centers on the topic of patient safety, patient identification, revenue cycle management, or infection control in healthcare? Drop us a note at: info@rightpatient.com with your idea and a suggested guest!

We hope you enjoy this podcast and walk away a little smarter about identity theft. Many thanks to Eva Velasquez and her staff for their time and expertise!

biometric patient identificationJeremy has worked in the biometrics industry for nearly a decade and has real world experience with fingerprint, palm vein, finger vein, iris and face recognition technologies. He currently oversees the RightPatient™ Healthcare division of M2SYS Technology, including sales, business development and project management. Before taking over the Healthcare unit, Jeremy spearheaded the growth of the core biometrics division, working closely with Fortune 500 clients like ADP, JP Morgan & BAE Systems to implement biometrics in large identity management projects.

Understand-biometric-patient-identification-options

Top 5 Questions For Biometric Patient ID Vendors

Understand-biometric-patient-identification-options

Biometric patient ID solution deployments to increase patient safety, eliminate duplicate medical records, and prevent medical ID theft and healthcare fraud are spreading rapidly throughout the healthcare industry. More medical facilities are researching the implementation of biometric patient ID in response to the increased attention and negative downstream impact caused by misidentification and the push to achieve 100% patient ID accuracy in healthcare

Understand-biometric-patient-identification-options

Learn the top 5 questions to ask when researching biometric patient identification solutions.

While the front end benefits of implementing biometrics for patient identification may be clear, what often may be slightly fuzzy is the back end technology of biometric patient ID systems and just what exactly the technology is actually capable of achieving. Biometric technology is not static, and depending on which modality a medical facility chooses, the ability to achieve some of the aforementioned benefits may be limited.

As a biometric vendor with over 14 years of experience in biometrics, cloud-computing, integration, and large-scale project implementations, we understand the technology and its capabilities and limitations. We know what certain biometric modalities are capable of, and are well positioned to offer educated recommendations on the best and most effective biometric technology for patient identification in healthcare. Unfortunately, many misunderstandings of biometrics exist that could influence decisions to adopt the technology to improve patient safety in healthcare.

Never fear! We are here to help make sense of biometrics for patient ID in healthcare by offering advice on the top 5 questions hospitals and medical facilities should be asking during the research phase of their due diligence to implement the most effective and sustainable solution. Here are our top 5 questions you should ask when researching biometric patient ID solutions:

  1. Does a patient have to physically touch a biometric hardware device to be enrolled and identified?

    Why this is important: 
    Patient hand hygiene is terrible. In fact, Dr. Lona Mody and her research team at The University of Michigan recently released a study that reported: “One-quarter of patients (24.1 percent) had at least one multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO), or superbug, on their hands when they checked in.” 

    Hospitals have a responsibility to ensure the cleanliness of any new devices introduced as part of the patient check-in or care process that require patient contact to support infection control protocols. The rise in awareness of the dangers that hospital-borne infections cause should call into question patient safety issues that contact-dependent biometric pose, especially in light of the dangers that MRSA, Ebola, and other germs and illnesses that can be spread by contact. Think about a patient who may be pregnant and not realize it who contracts an illness that jeopardizes the safety of themeselves and their child simply by touching a device that wasn’t properly cleaned? 

    Implementing contact-dependent biometric hardware requires medical facilities to ensure that the device is properly sanitized. Hospitals who see an average of 350,000 patients per year could be facing an extra $38,000 in sanitation expenses after implementing a contact dependent biometric hardware device. 

    The use of contact dependent biometrics can also have a negative impact on patient acceptance. Patients unwilling to touch a device will most likely decline to use the patient identification system. Since patient acceptance and participation is voluntary and the goal is to maximize their use of the technology to drive incremental value, this should be a concern for medical facilities.
    Top-5-Questions-For-Biometric-Patient-ID-Vendors-RightPatient

  2. Is the back end biometric technology based on one-to-many or one-to-few segmented searches?

    Why this is important: The only true way to prevent duplicate medical records and tangibly improve patient safety and patient data integrity through a biometric patient identification solution is to implement a system based on a one-to-many (1:N) search. Biometric patient ID systems based on a 1:N search compare a captured biometric template against ALL stored templates in the biometric database during enrollment.

    Alternatively, a one-to-few segmented search (1:Few) compares a captured biometric template against a portion of the total biometric database; hence, a credential (such as date of birth) needs to be provided prior to the biometric scan to determine which templates should be compared against. The biometric system would then compare the captured template against only those templates that share the same birth date.

    This is an extremely important question to ask when vetting biometric patient identification solutions. If the premise of implementing biometrics to identify patients is eliminating duplicate medical records, prevention of medical ID theft, and to improve patient safety, solutions based on a 1:Few search do not have the ability to deliver.

  3. Can the biometric patient ID solution recognize patients from any encounter end point?

    Why this is important: In the old days, healthcare delivery seemed much simpler. You get sick or suffer an ailment and drive to the doctor’s office or hospital. Treatment is rendered. You go home (or rehab if needed). However, modern healthcare and the digitization of care delivery has radically changed the complexion of how, when, and where we receive services. We now have the ability to login into patient portals 24/7 to view, read, or download data. Telemedicine visits allow us to receive care without every leaving the comfort of our couch. mHealth apps place medical advice, care services, and protected health information (PHI) data access in the palm of our hands. 

    These examples represent just a few of the new touchpoints along the care continuum that have blossomed in popularity witnessed by the digitization and personalization of healthcare. Although these examples shed light on the new reality of healthcare, accurate patient identification becomes no less important prior to accessing these new touchpoints. The problem is that not all biometric patient ID solutions have the ability to address accurate patient ID at every new touchpoint. Most are built and designed to handle patient ID in one venue and one venue only – face to face patient registration in brick and mortar environments.

    If achieving accurate patient ID prior to accessing sensitive PHI or administering services through a new touchpoint along the care continuum is just as important as accurate patient identification at the point of service, why would you want to invest in a solution not built on a centralized model for strong identification wherever a patient may be? 

  4. Does the biometric patient ID solution have the ability to instantly identify unconscious patients?

    Why this is important: Many hospitals and medical facilities like the idea that a biometric patient ID solution can identify unconscious or disoriented patients. It’s a big selling point and with good reason — patients who arrive unconscious or disoriented without identification or a family member present pose a serious risk. What if the patient is allergic to a medication? What if they have a pre-existing condition that could adversely affect or complicate treatment rendered?

    Certain biometric patient ID solutions have the unique ability to instantly identify unconscious patients but not unless they use 1:N back end searches (see #2 in this post). When seconds can mean life or death, you may not want to invest in a biometric patient identification solution using 1:Few segmented searches because then clinicians will have to guess a date of birth age prior to scanning the patient’s biometric credentials. Back end search limitations can delay the identification of an unconscious or disoriented patient. 

  5. What age groups are eligible to use the biometric patient identification solution?

    Why this is important: As mentioned earlier, a key metric to drive incremental value for any biometric patient ID solution is patient participation. Depending upon the back end biometric technology, not all patients are qualified to enroll in the system. Some biometric patient ID solutions recommend not to enroll patients under a certain age and others will require a larger investment in hardware to enroll younger patients who must then be repeatedly re-enrolled as they grow older and their biometric attributes change.

    Biometric patient ID systems exist to protect patients from the dangers of misidentification which include, but are not limited to:

    –duplicate medical records
    –overlays
    –medical identity theft
    –healthcare fraud

    Considering the fact that no patient is exempt from the risks that jeopardize their safety when not identified accurately, the post implementation goal should be to maximize patient enrollment, regardless of what age they may be.

    Did you know that children as young as pre-conception are in danger of being medical identity theft victims? Biometric patient identification systems that restrict enrollment based on age are not valuable. This is an important question to ask.

Investing in a biometric patient ID solution is an exercise in educating yourself about what these systems can and cannot accomplish. While no system is perfect or a panacea to solve all the problems of patient misidentification, achieving higher quality healthcare and improving patient safety are attainable goals that can be reached when the right solution is deployed. Be cautious when researching and make sure you are asking these 5 questions! 

home healthcare is a fast growing business and requires accurate patient ID

Homecare: The World’s Fastest Growing Industry?

home healthcare is a fast growing business and requires accurate patient ID

The following guest post on homecare was submitted by Be Independent Home Care.

As of now, the US healthcare industry is worth $84 billion and employs 1.7 million people. Employment in homecare as a home health aide is one of the fastest growing occupations in the country, with a growth rate of 38% expected by 2024 from a decade previously. On the basis of those statistics, the industry appears to be thriving.

A further inspection of the full picture, though, shows that even this substantial growth rate might not be enough to keep up with demand. The number of senior citizens in the U.S. is getting larger and larger every single day, with the senior population projected to reach 83 million by the end of this year. Where once there was 11 prospective family caregivers per person in need of care, that ratio could dwindle to four possible caregivers per person in the next 30 years. The days of lay caregiving seem to be coming to an end.

Furthermore, the need is not just for more healthcare professionals to provide the necessary care; the requisite standards of care are growing higher all the time. Healthcare providers and agencies need to meet strict licensing regulations which, while necessary in order to ensure that patients are cared for adequately, will further limit the pool of potential caregivers.

Be Independent Home Care, an Irish provider of one-on-one homecare, has produced this absorbing and thought-provoking infographic on the current state of the healthcare industry and the road down which it is traveling. The demand for healthcare services means that the industry should be booming, but is the supply of qualified healthcare professionals there to meet it?

home healthcare is a fast growing business and requires accurate patient ID

nursing leadership style have a direct impact on patient safety and patient outcomes

Infographic: How Nursing Leadership Styles Can Impact Patient Outcomes and Organizational Performance

nursing leadership style have a direct impact on patient safety and patient outcomes

The following guest post on improving patient outcomes was submitted by Bradley University

As in any profession, nurses can only perform as well as their workplaces, teams, and managers allow. While all healthcare employees are responsible for an organization’s performances, nurses are in an important position to directly influence patients’ experiences and outcomes. But in healthcare, performance doesn’t just have consequences in patient satisfaction; it can also affect recording errors, medication errors, and ultimately patient mortality rates.

Since managers are in a position to directly control the environment in which nurses work, their leadership style can have a tremendous impact on how patients are cared for and how the organization performs as a whole. Research has found that there are distinct correlations in how each of five key leadership styles can positively — or negatively — sway the quality of care provided.

Leadership styles can be fluid, and there isn’t necessarily one correct approach which will suit every organization or situation. For example, transactional and authoritarian leaders can excel during emergency situations, whereas democratic leadership is at its best when collaborating to refine processes and workflows. Transformational leadership can inspire nurses to perform at their best, demonstrated by research indicating reduced patient mortality in three of six studies.

Learn more about these leadership styles with the infographic below, produced for Bradley University’s Online Nursing Program. This graphic gathers research examining the link between different management styles and how they can influence an organization’s performance and patient outcomes.

Infographic: How Nursing Leadership Styles Can Impact Patient Outcomes and Organizational Performance