Culture is one of the most important parts of any organization. Culture plays an active role in determining productivity, results, how an organization is viewed and how it solves problems. Nowhere is this more true and important than in hospitals and health systems, where culture quite literally translates to a safer environment for patient care.

The National Quality Forum (NQF) has issued a new report on health IT safety and how to measure it.

This article examines some of the important features of a patient portal and the security features necessary to protect patient information. It also reviews what meaningful use criteria is as it is set forth by CMS.

According to the CDC, each year between 5 percent and 20 percent of the U.S. population will contract the flu and many patients will seek medical care in ambulatory health care settings. Although health care-associated flu infections can occur in any healthcare setting where patients are seeking care, these patients commonly show up in physician practices where the flu is also circulating in the community. (Requires registration for free account)

Dr. Shapiro’s concerns are supported by an abundance of data concerning medication risks. As the mainstay therapy of modern medicine, medication errors represent the most common type of patient safety error: the average hospitalized patient is subject to at least one medication error per day.