ASCLS: Patient Safety & The Laboratory

Since To Err is Human was published in 2000, healthcare has focused upon improving patient safety; specifically, reducing errors, decreasing hospital readmissions, and creating systems to reduce harm to patient...

On a daily basis medical laboratory professionals receive orders to perform laboratory tests that are appropriate as well as inappropriate with respect to providing clinicians with information that adds value t...

In 2003, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) identified the utilization of information technology as one of five essential competencies all healthcare practitioners need to deliver quality healthcare.1 With greater...

Healthcare today is increasingly complex. Expert clinical knowledge is not enough to ensure effective patient care. Strong communication skills, respect, and good connections among team members are critical to ...

Serving the patient has always been at the heart of clinical laboratory medicine, however the Institute of Medicine has identified improving patient-centered care as a key competency to improve healthcare quali...

Many cultural groups, including gays and lesbians, disabled individuals, individuals with faiths unfamiliar to a practitioner, lower socioeconomic groups, ethnic minorities, and immigrant groups may receive no ...

Being patient-centered, one of the Institute of Medicine’s 6 Quality Aims, is defined as respecting the patient’s culture, social context and specific needs as well as involving the patient in decision making a...

Anything that is wasteful or has to be repeated is considered inefficient.  As healthcare costs continue to skyrocket, it is no surprise that the Institute of Medicine has made ‘efficiency’ one of the six Quali...