Patient Safety Weekly Must Reads – October 14, 2016

This week from PPAHS we created a two-part article series examining patient monitoring strategies.  We also found 2 insightful articles adding to our knowledge of the opioid crisis, and a spotlight on alarm fatigue.

From PPAHS:

We released a two-part follow-up to some of the insights Dr. Thomas Frederickson had to say during our latest podcast interview regarding monitoring strategies for opioid-induced respiratory depression.  Haven’t watched the podcast series yet?  Click here for part one and part two.

3 Limitations to the Use of Pulse Oximetry

pulse-oximetry

While pulse oximetry can be a viable patient monitoring strategy, we learned from Dr. Frederickson that there are a series of factors that limit the use of blood oxygenation to alert for respiratory distress.  We took a deeper look into some of those limitations.  Read the full article here.

3 Keys To Successfully Implementing Capnography

capnography-wave-form

Capnography was identified during our interviews as a key component of a comprehensive monitoring strategy; it offers some advantages compared to monitoring with pulse oximetry alone.  We examined 3 key success factors to implement capnography.  Read the full article here.

From Around the Web:

REPORT: Addressing the Opioid Crisis in the United States

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s recent Innovation Report focused on the current opioid crisis, including an analysis of current state and identification of strategic gaps.  The call for a systemic approach to solving this issue echoes the sentiments from a recent Deloitte article we shared.  Get the PDF here.

The Advantages of Multimodal Pain Management over Opioid Monotherapy

Regardless of your thoughts on the term “multimodal”, this article does a good job intertwining the healthcare and business advantages of considering the breadth of pain management solutions available.  Read the full article here.

When medical alarm standards fail patients and health professionals

We often associate alarm fatigue with a scenario full of cacophonous alerts – but what if it’s a controlled environment and two identical-sounding alarms sound at once?  NetworkWorld’s recent article on medical alarms puts the spotlight on a possible contributing factor: auditory masking.  Read the full article here.

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