Nearly two-thirds (60.9%) of the CCNs reported having made medical errors in the past five years, according to the study. Occurrence of medical errors was significantly higher among nurses in worse health than those in the bet­ter health categories. For example, 67% of the nurses with higher stress scores versus 56.5% of the nurses with no or little stress reported having made medi­cal errors in the past five years.

Micky Tripathi, PhD, MPP, who holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University, took the reins of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) on the first day of the Biden administration in January.

Tripathi is no stranger to the thorny issues at the heart of healthcare IT, such as medical record interoperability, standards, and certifying electronic health record software. His previous 20 years of work in the field let him hit the ground running. He most recently worked as chief alliance officer for population health management technology company Arcadia, previously served as president and CEO of the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative, and has been on the board of directors of the HL7 FHIR Foundation, CommonWell Health Alliance, and The Sequoia Project.

The recent journal article, which was published by Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, features the planning effort for a 500-bed field hospital at Michigan Medicine—the health system affiliated with the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Planning for the alternate care site (ACS) began in March 2020, when modeling predicted that Michigan Medicine’s 1,000-bed acute care capacity would be overwhelmed by April 10.

How important is maintaining high reliability organization (HRO) principles and values during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic? Can a clinic or hospital reasonably become an HRO when dealing with a global emergency? And with the end of the pandemic on the horizon, will healthcare organizations take another shot at being an HRO or not?

During the coronavirus pandemic, most hospitals, clinics, and healthcare facilities have been caught up in the day-to-day challenges of responding to the global crisis. While there are signs that the pandemic may finally be wrapping up, patient safety and emergency preparedness professionals know that other problems will emerge, such as new pandemics, natural disasters, civil unrest, or terrorism.

A patient-first approach allows physicians, specialty pharmacy, patients, and care coordinators to connect effortlessly, rather than operating independently. This higher level of care continuity strengthens communication, yields rich data for more informed decision-making, and improves the overall patient experience. What’s more, dedicated clinical teams are empowered to seamlessly eliminate treatment gaps for the patient.