• JCAHO readiness continues: Unannounced survey in 2006
  Ongoing readiness efforts continue for the upcoming survey by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), which will take place some time in 2006. As of Jan. 1, the JCAHO has adopted a new policy of unannounced visits to health care organizations, which means that hospitals such as the MGH can expect the JCAHO surveyors to arrive at any time without prior notice.

• Committment to quality and safety: MGH introduces new web-based Safety Reporting System
  When the hospital completed a comprehensive strategic planning effort two years ago, the issues of quality and safety emerged as top institutional priorities. Since then, the MGH has dedicated significant time and resources to study and enhance its existing systems and infrastructure to better provide high-quality and safe patient care. This March, the MGH will introduce one of the most significant and visible outcomes of this work – a new web-based Safety Reporting System.

• MGH stroke team honored
  The MGH Acute Stroke Quality Task Force (ASQT) recently was honored with a certificate of recognition from the American Stroke Association (ASA) for the hospital's ongoing participation in the ASA's "Get with the Guidelines-Stroke" program. The hospital-based program aims to improve the overall quality of care for stroke patients by helping hospitals institute guidelines — developed by the ASA, the American Heart Association and the Brain Attack Coalition — that address acute stroke management, prevention of stroke and cardiovascular disease and the establishment of primary stroke centers.

• MGH Police and Security offers violence prevention classes
  Nationally, workplace violence is on the rise, with more than two million reported victims of physical assaults per year. According to some studies, a hospital can be especially vulnerable to workplace violence because of its often tension-filled public environment. MGH Police and Security has developed educational tools to minimize the threat of violence in a health care environment by using the proven management-of-conflict techniques of a program called Management of Aggressive Behavior (MOAB), which was conceived after years of research.

• Answering questions about protecting patient privacy
  When the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was introduced in 2003, protecting patient privacy — already one of health care's most important ethical obligations — became even more complicated. Although the MGH offers continuing education about HIPAA guidelines, privacy breaches do occur — sometimes accidentally. To help employees and staff avoid breaches, MGH Hotline regularly publishes questions and answers about patient confidentiality. The questions are answered by Eileen Bryan, MGH HIPAA compliance specialist.

• In memoriam: Perry J. Culver, MD
  Perry J. Culver, MD, formerly of the MGH Gastroenterology Department, died Jan. 15. He was 90 years old.

• What's Happening

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