Program description:
This program addresses eight areas that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has targeted for reducing reimbursement if complications occur in the hospital. Through state-of-the-art education, including near virtual-reality case simulations, clinicians are educated on how to identify and avoid these key areas. This web-based program allows for both education and testing of clinician’s skills in recognizing and avoiding these target areas. The web-based format and the ease of use of the virtual-reality program allows for rapid mass education of hospital clinicians. The program can be completed quickly. Clinicians can complete the program at any computer with access to the Internet, including outside the hospital/home. The benefit of this program is to avoid patient complications.

Objectives:

Pressure Ulcer Prevention
Participant will explain the importance of daily patient risk assessment and appropriate interventions for at risk patients in the prevention of pressure ulcers.
Define the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panels system of staging and identify Stage I, II, III, IV, suspected deep tissue injury and unstageable wounds.
Identify appropriate interventions in the prevention of pressure ulcers.

ABO incompatibility
Describe the importance of the patient identification process in preventing ABO errors.
Explain the differences in type specific and cross-matched blood and the importance in safe blood administration.

Venous Air Embolism
Identify medical procedures associated with increased risk for venous air embolism.
Define the appropriate procedures for maintenance of central venous catheters and their removal to prevent venous air embolism.
Describe the symptoms and appropriate medical interventions of venous air embolism.

Urinary Tract Infection
Identify risk factors for the development of urinary tract infection. Describe the best practice guidelines and standards to prevent urinary tract infection.

Fall from bed
Identify risk factors for falls in hospitals.
Complete a fall risk assessment. Discuss interventions to reduce fall occurrence.

Catheter associated blood stream infection
Discuss interventions to reduce the incidence of blood stream infection during insertion of central venous catheters.
Discuss interventions to reduce the incidence of blood stream infection during catheter maintenance.

Mediastinitis following coronary artery bypass grafting
Identify interventions to reduce surgical site infection.
Discuss quality improvement initiatives to reduce surgical site infection.
Objects left in patients following surgery

Identify interventions to prevent unintentionally retained foreign objects.
Discuss interventions for patients requiring intentionally retained foreign objects.