Medsurg nursing : official journal of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses
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The purpose of the HIPAA Privacy Rules was to create national standards to protect the privacy of personal health information. As of April 14, 2003, all covered health care entities must comply with the newly implemented national standards. The importance of staying updated with the law, while particularly important for the patient's privacy, is just as important for the nurse to avoid civil punitive damages and possible criminal charges.
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Delirium is one of the most serious and prevalent cognitive disorders among hospitalized elders. Fourteen elders participated in this phenomenologic study describing the "lived experience" of delirium from the patient's perspective. Implications for nursing practice are derived from their reality and insight.
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Evidence-based medicine has been defined as "the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients" (Sackett et al., 1996). Evidence-based nursing takes the process one step further by integrating clinical expertise and the data obtained from performance improvement processes with clinical research. ⋯ The authors noted an opportunity for improving central venous catheter (CVC) removal from the subclavian or internal jugular vein. Based upon previously recommended guidelines (Kim et al., 1998), the authors set out to determine the best practice related to CVC removal.
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Types of blood products commonly transfused by medical-surgical nurses include packed red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, and platelets. This review of ABO and Rh blood types and leukocyte-reduced blood products serves as a basis for understanding the nursing procedures and assessments that are a vital part of a safe and successful transfusion. The concept of the seroconversion window is described and related to the latest donor blood testing procedures such as nucleic acid amplification, which has markedly reduced the time between the initial contracting of viral illnesses such as HIV and hepatitis C and the point at which they may be detected in donor blood.
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Laryngeal edema is a relatively rare yet serious postoperative complication for those patients undergoing general anesthesia. Maintenance of airway and breathing are always the first priority of perioperative patient care. Medical-surgical nurses working in postoperative settings must be familiar with the signs, symptoms, and necessary prompt treatment for this life-threatening condition.