Healthcare Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.

These are the MediaLab courses that cover Healthcare and links to relevant pages within the course.

Learn more about laboratory continuing education for medical technologists to earn CE credit for AMT, ASCP, NCA, and state license renewal and recertification. Or get information about laboratory safety and compliance courses that deliver cost-effective OSHA safety training and continuing education to your laboratory's employees.

HIPAA Privacy and Security Regulations
Which of the following entities are covered by HIPAA?	View Page
Who does HIPAA apply to? HIPAA applies to: Health Plans (such as health insurance companies) Healthcare Clearinghouses (such as billing companies), and Healthcare Providers (including doctors, hospitals, laboratories, and pharmacies). HIPAA refers to these 3 groups as covered entities.	View Page

HIV Safety for Florida
The follow-up to a healthcare work HIV exposure includes:	View Page
Exposure Follow-up The follow-up to a healthcare work HIV exposure includes: psychological counseling medical evaluation postexposure testing at baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 6 months.	View Page

Introduction to Bioterrorism
One of the most important contributions those working in healthcare can make is to:	View Page
Laboratory Response The broad base of clinical laboratories in this country is an essential component of our nation’s public health and healthcare system and is an essential link in addressing biological and chemical terrorism. In 1999 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initiated the concept of a Laboratory Response Network (LRN). The LRN is a network of local, state, federal, and military laboratories across the United States and internationally which work together in an integrated and coordinated way for a rapid response to public health emergencies. The LRN concept of operations is based on a system of safety and proficiency.	View Page
The Fear Factor in Bioterrorism As the term suggests, Terrorists excel at creating panic. What is so insidious about chemical and biological terrorism is that it involves agents that we can’t see. People don’t know how to react when they can’t see what is hurting them. There are several examples, from a commercial bus crash to someone who reported smelling gas in a school, where rumors that the incidents were caused by either biological or chemical terrorism triggered an “epidemic hysteria”. In both areas the local hospital’s emergency room was overwhelmed. In each of the incidents mentioned, State and Federal officials spent countless hours investigating and found no possible biohazard, but the panic was real. From these experiences we see more than ever that healthcare workers are not just the first line of defense in the event of an actual attack, they are who the public looks to for rationality and reliable information in an bioterrorism emergency.	View Page
What You Can Do to Prevent Panic The first step in minimizing hysteria is knowing what to expect and what to do in different circumstances. In other words, the single best agent to prevent or lessen hysteria is knowledge. Healthcare workers must not only be knowledgeable regarding what to do for themselves, but to help educate the general public as well so that everyone will respond to rumors or the real thing in a sane and rational manner. It is the responsibility of every healthcare worker to help provide information and resources, not only where they work, but also to their families and to their community so everyone can take care of events as they occur.	View Page
Your Response - Beyond the Workplace As a healthcare professional, your preparedness and response in the event of a terrorist attack is not limited to just your workplace. The following pages give a brief overview of what you can do to help protect yourself, your family, and your community.	View Page

Laws and Rules of the Florida Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel

Your Role

As a clinical laboratory worker, your role is vital in the health care process. You provide information to doctors, nurses, and healthcare organizations that is vital to proper patient care. Because your role is so important, you must be properly qualified, trained, and licensed for your position. You must also keep up with the latest laboratory techniques and developments by fulfilling continuing education requirements. And you are bound by a code of ethics, which ensures that patient results are accurate, reliable, and free from error and bias.

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Medical Error Prevention
Analysis of medical errors and adverse events creates opportunities to improve healthcare systems. True or false?	View Page
Near misses or "close calls" enable the healthcare community to discover new ways to prevent medical errors. True or false?	View Page
What does the JCAHO Speak UP campaign encourage?	View Page
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations promotes improved patient safety through its programs and resources. True or false?	View Page
Medical Errors in the United States Most medical interventions produce positive outcomes. Everyone expects to give and receive effective medical care. These expectations are routinely met by the healthcare community. However, a 2000 publication from the Institute of Medicine, the IOM, To err is human: Building a safer health system, reports that medical errors cause as many as 98,000 deaths every year in the United States.	View Page
JCAHO and Sentinel Events JCAHO learns about 80% of known Sentinel Events through healthcare organization reports and 20% through information from other sources, such as the media. In 1996, JCAHO implemented a Sentinel Events Policy for healthcare organizations. This policy requires organizations to monitor and report adverse events, explore their causes, and report on changes they make in response.	View Page
JCAHO Sentinel Event ALERTS Since 1998, JCAHO has issued 25 Sentinel Event ALERTS to the healthcare community. These publications include more than 50 evidence or expert-based recommendations for preventing adverse events. Sentinel Event Alerts address various error reduction topics: Transfusion reactionsInpatient suicideInfant abductionsWrong site surgery or other proceduresPatient falls Laboratory professionals can be involved in all of these types of Sentinel Events. JCAHO's first Sentinel Event ALERT addressed the common practice of storing concentrated potassium chloride solutions in hospital nursing units.	View Page
Reporting Reluctance Errors must be identified before their number can be reduced. Like most people, healthcare professionals are reluctant to admit mistakes. Guilt feelings, avoidance of punishment, and colleague disapproval feed this reluctance. Fear of lawsuits silences discussion about error reduction. Most professionals work with the best of intentions and skills. Occasionally their efforts produce unintended results and they are forced to pay huge settlements to patients. These outcomes encourage the silence.	View Page
Culture of Secrecy People tend to look for someone to blame when medical mistakes occur. Victims and their loved ones find some satisfaction in blaming. An environment of blame encourages a culture of secrecy about medical mistakes. Mandatory reporting laws have not overcome this secrecy, and they do not encourage efforts to find ways of avoiding errors. Error reduction requires a commitment from the healthcare community to recognize and acknowledge that medical errors indicate systems problems, not people problems.	View Page
Observation and Review Human observation and record review help the healthcare community reduce errors several ways: They indicate and signal system breakdowns.They create new reference points for quality improvement and best practices.They focus resources on error correction.They evaluate interventions.They provide examples for problem solving and continuing education.They focus on cause analysis.	View Page
Relevant Human Factors Human factors influence medical errors and their reporting. Everyone involved in healthcare is human and inherently fallible. Completely error-free medical care requires a knowledge base and performance level that exceeds human capability. Healthcare providers must abandon the naming, blaming, and shaming of people that fosters reluctance to admit errors.	View Page
Failure Mode and Effect Analysis Other accreditation programs also encourage error prevention. For example, JCAHO requires healthcare organizations to perform Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) at least once each year. FMEA systematically identifies ways developing systems and processes might fail to eliminate the likelihood of failure. Its goal is preventing errors before they occur.	View Page
New JCAHO Standards The healthcare community uses RCA to reduce medical errors, but it is reactive in nature. For this reason, JCAHO collaborates with recognized patient safety experts to develop and implement additional patient safety standards. These new standards charge healthcare organization leaders to create cultures of patient safety. They emphasize the need for teamwork and effective communication. They are based on well-known experiences of the aviation industry and they reflect findings from JCAHO's Sentinel Event Database. They identify communication breakdowns as the most common underlying factor in all types of Sentinel Events.	View Page
JCAHO Patient Safety Goals JCAHO adopted national patient safety goals for laboratories and many other healthcare organizations. 2006 Laboratory Services National Patient Safety Goals These goals are directly quoted.	View Page
American Society for Clinical Laboratory ScienceThe American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, ASCLS, joins the leadership effort to prevent medical errors and increase patient safety.	View Page
Speak Up Campaign JCAHO also encourages people to do things themselves to prevent errors. It joined other groups in 2002 to launch the consumer Speak Up campaign. It encourages the public to become active participants in their healthcare and "speak up" when they have questions and concerns. As a healthcare professional, you should be aware that JCAHO has started a program to encourage patients and their families to become more involved in their medical care.	View Page
Which of these actions can people do themselves to prevent medical errors?	View Page
Medical Negligence Unfortunately, adverse events do occur in healthcare situations. They may or may not be preventable and they may or may not involve medical negligence. Medical negligence is a legal term. It describes adverse events involving patient care that fails to meet specific, established standards. Medical negligence occurs when a medical professional does or does not perform the correct action, resulting in great patient harm (an adverse event).	View Page

Medicare Compliance for Clinical Laboratories

Introduction

The government believes that fraud, abuse and waste exist in the healthcare industry today because of cases it has settled and prosecuted.All healthcare providers, including laboratories, make billing errors.The Office of Inspector General (OIG) believes that honest members of the healthcare community can police themselves if they receive guidance.The OIG has published Compliance Program Guidance documents for health care providers, including laboratories.

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OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens
You Are At Risk! As a healthcare worker, you come into contact with bloodborne pathogens. These are infectious organisms, usually viruses, which live in human blood and other potentially infectious body fluids.The most important ones are... Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)	View Page
How is HIV spread? HIV is spread in the community and healthcare workers just like HBV.Sexual contactDrug users sharing infected needlesAn infant's exposure to its mother's body fluids	View Page
Sharps A sharp is any object which can penetrate the skin.Examples include: Needles Scalpels Broken glass About 800,000 needlestick and sharps injuries occur in the U.S. healthcare workplace each year! It is important to handle and dispose sharps properly.	View Page

OSHA Electrical Safety (updated 2007)
Which of the following statements regarding use of extension cords in a healthcare facility is not true?	View Page
What is the most important consideration before using a space heater in a healthcare facility?	View Page

Tuberculosis Awareness for Healthcare Workers
The Ongoing Problem Tuberculosis is an ongoing problem in the United States. As a healthcare worker, it is important for you to be informed about tuberculosis. It can affect your life, family and coworkers.	View Page
High Risk Infection Groups The following persons are at higher risk for exposure to and infection from Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Frequent travelers to tuberculosis endemic areas; Residents and employees of high-risk congregate settings such as correctional facilities, long-term care facilities, and homeless shelters; Healthcare workers who serve high-risk patients or have unprotected exposure; Medically underserved and low-income populations; Infants, children, and adolescents exposed to adults in high-risk categories.	View Page
Matching Facts	View Page
CDC Guidelines The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued Guidelines for Prevention of Tuberculosis in Healthcare Settings in 2005.These guidelines have broader applications than the Guidelines for Prevention of Tuberculosis in Healthcare Facilities issued by CDC in 1994.	View Page
CDC Risk Categories CDC has identified three risk categories in health-care settings: A low risk healthcare setting is one in which HCWs will most likely not be exposed to persons with TB disease or to clinical specimens that might contain M. tuberculosis. A medium risk healthcare setting is one in which the HCW will or might possibly be exposed to persons with TB disease or to clinical specimens that might contain M. tuberculosis. A potential ongoing transmission healthcare setting is temporarily applied to any setting if there is evidence of person-to-person transmission of M. tuberculosis in the past year.	View Page
Tuberculosis Exposure Control Plan The CDC Guidelines for Prevention of Tuberculosis in Healthcare Settings recommend that all healthcare facilities develop a TB exposure control. The plan should include an exposure determination at defined intervals for all employees who may have occupational exposure to tuberculosis.	View Page
Match the recommended frequency for TB screening of a healthcare worker with the risk category of the healthcare setting from the drop-down box:	View Page
Protect Yourself Healthcare workers must be alert for signs and symptoms of TB to protect themselves from inadvertent exposure.Help protect yourself, coworkers, patients, and visitors by: Having current TB screening according to the risk classification of your setting, Understanding the risks of TB in your work area, Practicing good infection control at work and at home.	View Page
References Pratt R, Robison V, Navin T. Trends in tuberculosis. MMWR/57(11);281 - 285; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: March 21, 2008. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5711a2.htm Last accessed on May 23, 2008.Respiratory Protection in Health-Care Settings Fact Sheet. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/99-143.html. Last accessed May 23, 2008. Slide set - Guidelines for preventing the transmission of M. Tuberculosis in Healthcare settings, 2005. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tb/pubs/slidesets/InfectionGuidelines/program.htm Last accessed on May 23, 2008.Tuberculin Skin Testing Fact Sheet. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/TB/pubs/tbfactsheets/skintesting.htm Last accessed on May 23, 2008.	View Page