With violence against healthcare workers reaching epic proportions, Mass General Brigham Hospital has launched a campaign to curb abuse from patients and visitors.

Under a newly imposed Patient Code of Conduct, patients and visitors who disrupt care, make verbal or physical threats — including racist, sexist, discriminatory or disrespectful comments about clinicians, other hospital staff, other patients and visitors — could face a verbal reprimand, and even expulsion from the Boston hospital and possible suspension of future care access.

What’s the problem in this photograph and how would you fix it if you were to find this in your hospital’s kitchen?

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and 34 other healthcare organizations are urging the Biden administration to hold a summit to address crisis levels of patient boarding in emergency departments.

Boarding in emergency departments occurs when there is a shortage of inpatient beds for hospital admissions or there are no beds at external facilities such as psychiatric hospitals. The Joint Commission recommends that emergency department boarding not exceed four hours; however, it has become common to have emergency department boarding for days or weeks, according to ACEP.

While I try not to belabor any particular thought or consideration, sometimes what I write about each week is a function of what I’ve encountered (read, seen, etc.) during the previous week. And, if a common theme “bridges” the weeks, sometimes I like to (as they say) strike while the iron is hot.

The problem of workplace violence (WPV) against nurses in healthcare isn’t getting better.

According to Press Ganey, a healthcare solutions provider, more than two nursing personnel were assaulted every hour in Q2 2022. That equates to roughly 57 assaults per day, 1,739 assaults per month, and 5,217 assaults per quarter.

But since 2020, patient engagement has become more important than ever—especially for those with complex care needs. Providers must find ways to engage patients and keep them in-network. The alternative risks worse outcomes and lost revenue.

These threats are everyone’s game, and that means anyone in charge of life safety and healthcare security from a physical and technical perspective can be affected. And government regulators are taking cybersecurity very seriously.

Primary source verification (PSV) is required for confirming a practitioner’s identity before they join your organization. This can include checking with the practitioner’s listed training program to verify that they graduated from that program, checking with the state licensing board to ensure that the practitioner has a valid license, and checking with the hospital the practitioner says they previously worked at to confirm that they provided care.  

Whether it's extreme heat or intense freezing temperatures, extreme weather will always be on the table and can put healthcare facilities and their occupants in danger. Winter, in particular, offers challenges, especially with Life Safety Code^® compliance.