Diagnostic Error: Chaos or Conquerable?
May 7, 2024
Effective solutions to combat diagnostic error exist today. Why haven’t more institutions implemented programs with a focus on diagnostic error reduction? Source: Hubspot
Clinical Documentation and Patient Safety: We’re on a Slippery Slope
April 22, 2024
[9 MIN READ] Remember paper T sheets? Your patient has back pain, so you grab a paper T sheet from the anatomical rack, walk into the exam room, get your history, make some circles and slashes, and your history and physical is all but complete by the time you get back to your desk. Write…Read More
Situation Critical: The Discharge of Patients with Very Abnormal Vital Signs
April 15, 2024
[6 MIN READ] The overwhelming majority of malpractice lawsuits in emergency medicine and other acute care venues involve the failure to diagnose. In most cases, these patients are discharged home where the missed diagnosis results in an adverse outcome or death. Fortunately, the patient “bounces back” in some cases, creating another opportunity to make the…Read More
First Impressions are Critical to Patient Experience
April 8, 2024
[4 MIN READ] All of us experience a never-ending number of first impressions. Consider that first visit to a restaurant that was highly recommended by friends. After being seated, five or ten minutes go by without a server coming to the table. When the server finally arrives, they seem distracted with no discernible facial expression….Read More
A Comprehensive Initiative To Improve Maternal Health
October 26, 2021
A steady increase in maternal mortality and morbidity in the U.S. prompted a comprehensive, collaborative response by the federal government and leading medical organizations focused on maternal health to improve outcomes. The Prevention of Maternal Death Act of 2018 directed DHS to develop programs that support the states in their work to save and sustain…Read More
Onboarding New Triage Nurses: A New Strategy For an Old Challenge
September 20, 2021
Challenges in a COVID World Covid-19 has brought to the forefront not only challenges in what to provide as optimal treatment but also a very unique challenge of who will provide it. Nurses are consistently the “most trusted” workforce across the globe.(1) This disease and its resulting pandemic have created a barrier to a few…Read More
Mitigating the Consequences of Burnout, Medical Errors, and Liability
September 7, 2021
In 2019, the World Health Organization categorized burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. While burnout was a concern before COVID-19, its onset has exacerbated the problem. According to an ACEP October 2020 poll, 87% of emergency physicians reported feeling more stressed since the start of the…Read More
Honoring Tom Syzek and Introducing Stassia Sullivan
September 3, 2021
I want to take a collective pause with you for a moment to recognize a very special individual in The Sullivan Group’s world, Dr. Tom Syzek. Tom has decided to step down from his position as TSG’s VP of e-Learning. I hesitate to say retire because Tom has a long list of things that will…Read More
Case: A Nurse’s Role in Preventing Diagnostic Error
August 3, 2021
Despite almost two decades of attention and study, diagnostic error continues to be a main issue in healthcare, affecting an estimated 12 million people each year and causing harm in one-third of these cases. The most comprehensive literature on this topic comes from “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care,” in which the first recommendation is to…Read More
